


Lead Me From The Unreal To Real

by ImaginationGoneWild



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, African American Baby, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Angst, Black Baby - Freeform, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Character Development, Chubby, Drug junkie, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Family Loss, Female Character of Color, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Former drug junkie, Hinduism, Hurt/Comfort, Indian Character, Injury Recovery, Knives, Medical Training, Mental Instability, Multi, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Past Rape/Non-con, Rape Aftermath, References to Drugs, Romance, Scars, Season 1 - Ongoing, Sisters, Slow Burn, Smut, Southern Belle, Stripper, Strong Female Characters, Survival Horror, Tags May Update, Tattoos, Team as Family, Teenager, Trailer Trash, biker chick, drugs use, striptease
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-02-17 13:28:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13077852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationGoneWild/pseuds/ImaginationGoneWild
Summary: The stoic Lucille Wilder (30) struggles to cling to her sanity as the world around her collapses while trying to raise a baby that isn't even hers to begin with. Her behavior becomes increasingly volatile as she seems to adapt a whole lot faster than the others. All the while she has to protect her sister, Roxanne Perry (19) who seems to be an easy fit in the Atlanta Group but makes them wonder if she has what it takes to survive this harsh world.This is a story about gambling on hope, and feeling the consequences of it. Where one will lose families and forge new ones in a world where it's survival of the fittest. Not only will they have to deal with the denizens of this apocalyptic world but also with the demons of their past...





	1. Cover

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	2. For Posterity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings readers,
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this fanfic, it's my first one and has yet to be finished. Sadly I do not have a 'posting schedule' because my muse is whimsical like that. But I hope you'll look forward to the story nonetheless, and know that the story will not be abandoned if the chapters aren't coming out fast enough.
> 
> Feedback and questions are always welcome, they'll help me grow as a writer and hopefully I'll be able to help you too. ^^
> 
> Some quick content warnings; Graphic Violence and Sexual content, Drugs use and mentions, Mentions of rape and possible scenes, Graphic deaths, Mental illnesses, Suicide and all that comes with it, ...
> 
> I'll make sure to repeat warnings when dealing with sensitive subjects such as rape throughout the story.
> 
> Tags and Warnings may update as the story grows.

"Mickey, snap out of it! Please!" she sobbed while pushing against his chest.

But the young man didn't listen. Instead he digs his fingers into her arms and unleashes a primal roar as his jaws snap at her. His eyes were unfocused and clouded, his once sun kissed skin a sickly grey. They continued to play this tug-o-war, inching closer and closer to her. All that was left of him now was the need to feed.

Roxanne tripped and fell to the kitchen floor, dragging Mickey with her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pleaded for someone to save her. She didn't want to die like this! _Not by him, not like this!_ Her arms were getting tired and Mickey's chomping were getting more and more desperate.

Until all of the sudden something hit him across the head causing him to fall to the side and loosening his grip on the girl.

Roxanne took the opportunity to roll over to the side and crawl away with a whimper.

Looking up she saw it was Lucille that was now on top of Mickey; straddling across his torso the woman hit him again and again with the table lamp. Grunting with each blow she gave him, all the while Roxanne tried to stop her, reminding her who it was that she was trying to kill.

"Stop, please!" she cried.

Lucille couldn't stop. When she saw Mickey on top of her sister she lost it and grabbed the closest thing to her and smacked the object against his head. When she had rolled him over she noticed his condition, he was too far gone now.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath.

Lucille raised the lamp over her head before bringing it down against the man's skull, then again and again.

Roxanne threw herself at Lucille, hugging her from behind and resting her head against her shoulder. Crying and begging to stop hitting him.

"It's over, Ghost. Please just stop already. Please!" She understood why it had to be done but this was overkill.

Lucille let the lamp slip from her grasp when she felt the weight of her sister pressed against her back, snapping her back to reality.

The metal object hit the wooden floor with a thud. Her body trembled from the rush of adrenaline. Panting heavily she tried to calm herself down. And when she felt something warm and wet dripping on her shoulder, her bloodied hand reached for Roxanne, gently digging her fingers into the girl's brown hair.

"I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm so sorry but I had no choice...He was...He-"

Roxanne only sobbed and nodded against her shoulder while she rocked back and forth with Lucille.

 

* * *

 

Her dark curls were whipping wildly around her face as she stared down at the prom picture in her hand. She was still mourning Mickey's death. _One moment he was fine and the next_... She had known him for so long, practically grew up with him.

She traced a finger over his face, missing his crooked smile. With a sigh she lifted her gaze towards the open car window, watching the woodsy scenery while wiping her watery eyes with a finger. Roxanne tried not to smudge her make-up any more than it already had.

They have been on the road for a while now. His death seemed to have been the wake-up call that they needed.

At first it was just the major cities; New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London,... Then slowly but surely the infection spread to smaller cities and towns. Then remote places like theirs were probably hit last. Their town was situated near Chattahoochee forest, not much was going on except if you were a hunter or a tourist that liked hiking.

It was getting too dangerous; by the time Mickey died half the town had already been evacuated or turned, and those that didn't turn were probably looting, or hiding like they were.

The driver had her fingers pressed to her lips, pondering about the events that had transpired over the last couple of days and what their next move should be.

She glanced at Roxanne through her aviator glasses every now and then. Poor girl was still grieving over her boyfriend. Although she never liked the guy she still felt sorry for her sister. She couldn't figure out why she disliked him though, he seemed to be a good kid. _Maybe it was 'cause he was datin' Roxy, the whole protective maternal thing or whatever they called it._

She dropped her hand from her lips and clutched the steering wheel while her other hand reached for Roxanne's, feeling awkward about how to approach this. So she gave her a reassuring squeeze without saying anything instead.

The stoic blonde wasn't much of a talker when it came to emotional topics. The two women were complete opposites of each other, you couldn't miss it.

Roxanne Perry was the social butterfly, she was always cheerful and optimistic. Nothing you could do or say could bring her mood down. She was the sensitive one but brave.

Lucille Wilder on the other hand was a 'lone wolf'. Mostly kept to herself. She had a harder time trusting people too which resulted in her not having many friends. She always speaks her mind and some took that as a sign of her being a bitch. But in a way, the girls complemented each other.

Roxanne looked over at Lucille, smiling sadly with a sniffle before looking back down at the tattooed hand holding hers and returned the squeeze. With a finger she quickly traced her mother's name inked in Sanskrit on the side of Lucille's hand, 'Avani'. How she wished she was here with them...

Lucille slowed the truck to a stop as they reached a stop sign taking the opportunity to turn in her seat and face Roxy, squeezing her hand again.

Her mirrored sunglasses were big on her, barely making her eyebrows visible as she tried to comfort her little sister. "We'll get through this," she said, trying to reassure her, "I promise."

Roxanne nodded at her, sighing at the mess they were in.

The sentimental moment passed when the engine turned itself off again. Lucille turned the key but the car wouldn't start; hearing the engine stutter.

Roxanne's eyes grew wide as she looked around the road before asking, "Are we out of gas again?"

Lucille gritted her teeth as she tried and tried again, "No, we ain't outta gas. It's just a..." she started to grunt and slam her fists against the wheel and dashboard in frustration before yelling, "...worthless, piece of shit!!"

One more turn of the key and the motor started up again. The blonde took a few moments to calm down and glanced at Roxy, "She won't last long."

Roxanne looked worried, "Will we make it to the campgrounds at least?"

Lucille wondered that too. Not saying another word she continued their journey for as long as the truck would take them.

 

* * *

 

The roads were eerily empty with the occasional road block, heaps of cars piled together due to traffic jams and panic. Luckily for them they lived in a small town surrounded by wilderness and emptiness, so for now the roads won't be too jammed up.

They heard mentions of a refugee camp up in the mountains where the smaller communities were to gather until further notice. So that's where they were heading until a better plan comes up...

They drove in comfortable silence until Roxy stuffed the prom picture in the pocket of her dirty, blue floral sundress.

Lucille always joked about her fashion style. She called it the cupcake look; cute and perky. But it fit her, she was more feminine than Lucille anyway.

Roxy turned in her seat to grab her bag and pulled out her camera and placed it in her lap for now. She rolled up the window first and then pulled down the sun visor, fixing her make-up and curly bob before pointing the camera and herself.

Roxy has Indian roots, from her mother's side. Her skin was a beautiful olive color without a blemish whatsoever. She was a bit on the voluptuous side when it came to her figure. And according to her late mother she had her father's eyes, jade green. The man died in a work accident when she was a baby, so Lucille was all she really had as a parental figure now.

Lucille glanced at her, smiling a bit and shook her head at the girl's vlogging habits. "Whatcha' doin'?" she asked in that typical southern accent of hers.

 _The girl just recently lost her home, her boyfriend and nearly got infected herself; and already she's plastered on that damn camera of hers._ If this was any other day she would probably upload it to YouTube, just another video in between the ones about her fashion style and DIY projects.

Lucille smirked as she watched the road, she was kind of relieved to see Roxy getting back to her old self again.

Roxanne paused, opening and closing her mouth, searching for the right answer.

She then looked at Lucille with a serious expression. "For posterity," she said with a firm nod before she pressed the record button. "And to keep me sane. Like keeping a journal," she added.

Right now she needed to clear her thoughts and didn't care if Lucille was next to her to hear it.

 _Always the dramatic one..._ "Posterity? Yer makin' it sound like it's the end of the world," she chuckled.

Roxanne gave her a look that could only be described as 'duh'.

Lucille arched a brow and then cleared her throat. "It's just rabies, it'll blow over," she lied.

Part of her wanted to pretend that everything was fine, but it wasn't. They were dirty, hungry, tired, and scared. And still had a long ways to go for the campgrounds. What Lucille really wanted right now was a bath, and to wake up from this nightmare hoping she was having a bad trip from whatever she was smoking.

She stifled a yawn at the thought of her comfy bed, the image beckoning to her like an old lover. But then again, it'd be hard finding sleep with a dead guy in your kitchen.

There was another thing that bothered her. Two things even by the name of Dixon. No one who thought about that name did it with love in their hearts. Hell, even she couldn't call it love but she owed a lot to these men.

Roxanne wrinkled her nose in annoyance, "Really, rabies? After what we've seen you're goin' with rabies? I'm nineteen, Ghost! Not twelve, geez. I know what's happenin'..."

After all these years Lucille still treated her like a little kid. Always trying to sugarcoat things for her, which was funny considering how blunt she is with others.

"And I know you're worryin' about the Dixons," she said quietly before adding, "We're better off without them, they're nothin' but trouble."

Lucille kept her hands on the steering wheel, sucking on her teeth and sighing loudly. She couldn't say she was wrong, the boys are absolutely trouble. In fact they have been a bad influence on her but circumstances brought them together and she learned to care for them... to an extent.

Roxanne lifted the camera again and started recording, clearing her throat and began to talk about their journey so far.

 

* * *

 

 

"... He just wouldn't stop so we had to..." She didn't want to say the word 'kill', it wasn't like that. She looked at Lucille, "... It was self-defense. We just wanted him to stop." She was talking more to her sister now than the camera, somehow trying to appease the blonde's conscious for killing a man.

Lucille had never done that before, not even for self-defense. She always got out lucky during her shit years, or someone else took care of the problem for her.

Lucille briefly glanced at Roxy and grumbled for her to stop talking about it with a quick wave of her hand.

Roxanne looked back into the camera, continuing her story to the point where they were now on their way to the refugee camp. She then turned the camera on her sibling, "Say somethin', Ghost. How do -you- feel?" she asked her.

Roxy felt like Lucille needed to talk about this before she starts to bottle things up again. She always bottled things up until that ticking bomb would explode and she'd do something she regretted.

Lucille frowned at her, "How do I feel? ... I dunno..."

Roxanne paused the camera and tried to convince her. "Just... tell the people what you're thinkin' of right now, what's your opinion about all this? It's good to talk about these things." She pointed the camera again.

Lucille's inked and cheap bejeweled hands clutched the steering wheel nervously. She never liked people filming her, nor take a picture. Roxy never understood why though, it couldn't be because she was insecure. She'd seen the woman flaunt her body before, she couldn't care less about it.

According to Roxy, Lucille had that perfect hourglass shaped body, toned due to harsh living. She was taller than Roxy who was 5'2, Lucille was 5'4. She often reminded her of a Southern Belle that took a wrong turn in her life somewhere. Her dirty blonde hair was dyed with highlights, and was partly braided and partly pinned up in a sloppy fashion.

And her eyes, Lucille found them odd but Roxanne loved her eyes, they were vibrant and people often argued which color they were. Lucille happened to suffer from heterochromia, dual-colored eyes. She had one blue and one green.

Lucille's style could best be described as 'bohemian' meets 'biker chick', and intimidating woman looking like disaster.

Jewelry was her weakness though, the more the better: a bunch of mismatched set of earrings and a ton of rings on her fingers.

Roxy on the other hand was more simple with jewelry, just a necklace of an owl and one ring with a floral design. She never wore earrings before since she dreads the thought of having her ears pierced with a needle.

Roxanne sighed when Lucille remained quiet and shut the camera off. Leaning back in her seat she looked out the window, watching the trees pass by until her eye catches a man crossing the road recklessly. She shot up straight, "Look out!" she screamed and grabbed hold of Lucille's arm in the hopes of getting her attention.

Lucille was distracted because she was fiddling with the car radio, trying to find a working station with some news about the outbreak. But all she could ever find was either static, a doomsday preacher who preached about sinners getting what they deserved, and the same pre-recorded message that they've been hearing since they left. She startled when Roxy started screaming and tugging on her arm.

With a gasp, she turned the wheel violently to the right, trying to avoid the jaywalker. But in doing so the truck swerved off the road and crashed into some trees.

... And then everything went black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-Dun-Duuuun.... Until Next Time!  
> Leave a review if you liked it! :3
> 
> \--Teaser for Next Chapter--
> 
> "Stop! Do not make me do this!" she pleaded one last time.
> 
> A bloodied hand grasped her boot.
> 
> "Fuck."
> 
> She pulled the trigger...


	3. Dahlonega

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Ao3!
> 
> I'm so happy people like the story so far! ^^  
> Thank you; FarFromHeroic, Smd00, Ashies, and guests for the Kudos! <3
> 
> I'm currently working on Chapter 9, I try not to post all the chapters at once in case I have a writer's block. That way I can have some extra time to work it out while you guys can still look forward to chapters.  
> But here's chapter 2 already since it's Christmas soon. I'll do my best to see if my muse is ready to push out Chapter 3 around next week-ish.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy 'Dahlonega', feel free to leave Kudos or comments! Or questions are fine too :)

The sound of a car horn blaring non-stop was what woke up Roxanne.

Looking around confused she pushed the deflated airbag out of the way. It took her a couple of seconds to realize where she was and what had happened. When she saw the damage to the car's front she froze for a moment before frantically looking down at herself for any injuries, luckily she was just really sore.

She pushed her hair out of her face before placing her hands and head on the dashboard, thanking whoever was watching over her. "I'm okay, I'm okay, okay..." she chants as she straightened herself in her seat, placing her hand over her heart feeling like she just ran a marathon.

She looks over at Lucille finally realizing why the car horn was sounding non-stop. She frowned when the woman wasn't moving, "Lucille?"

The driver's airbag had malfunctioned and now Lucille was slumped against the steering wheel.

Roxanne quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled over to her sister, carefully pulling her off the wheel, stopping the horn.

She noticed Lucille had a nasty bruise forming on her forehead already, some cuts here and there, and a split lip. As she placed her trembling fingers against the blonde's throat she let out a sigh of relief when she felt the skin underneath pulsating. "Oh, thank God. Oh, thank you. You're okay."

Roxy pulled out her phone, smiling at the signal bars that were showing up. She called 911 and waited to hear the click, "Hello?! I need-" She frowned as she listened to the message...

_"Due to a recent outbreak of illness, Georgia is now in a state of emergency. Those infected are highly contagious and can become aggressive. Please remain calm and stay indoors, lock your windows and doors. And avoid any infected individuals. If you believe yourself to be infected, quarantine yourself and wait for help to arrive. This is a pre-recorded message."_

Dejected she lowered her phone as she looked at Lucille -who was still out of it- with tear-filled eyes.

She leaned back and ran a hand through her brown hair, mumbling to herself. It was during moments like these that she wished her mother was still alive. _She would know what to do, she would also know how to take care of Ghost._ "Why didn't I pay more attention to her first aid lessons?" she whined.

She glanced at her phone again, "Okay, there's no help comin'. So what do we do?"

She looked around the car, noting how the windshield was severely cracked, there were pieces of glass everywhere but then she spotted the GPS system. "If help doesn't come. We go lookin' for it," she said with determination as she grabbed the GPS. She checked to see if it still worked and then tried to pinpoint their location.

She was relieved to know that they were pretty close to a town. It was either searching for help in town or wait for a car passing by, and these days she wasn't sure if there will be any. She had to do something...

"Alright, Ghost. We've got a plan," she muttered to her sister.

She grabbed her bag, making sure she had her ID with her. She opened the door but then paused.

She looked over her shoulder at the unconscious woman and bit her lip. _What if Ghost wakes up before help arrives and freaks out?_ Knowing her the woman would be furious and worried sick about her if she found out Roxy left her alone in here. Ever since her mom died she became overly protective, suffocating so.

She opened her bag and took out a ballpoint pen. She crawled back to Lucille and took her hand, writing a note on her palm. With that Roxy then climbed out of the car with her bag.

She closed the door and checked her watch, "Almost Noon." She was about to walk to the road when she heard something snap in the woods.

She spun around, looking around to see what spooked her. "Hello?! Who's there?!" she yelled at the trees...no answer. She began to fiddle with her bag and pulled out a small can, "I got pepper spray and I'm not afraid to use it!"

There was still no answer from the woods so she shook her head and cursed to herself for being so paranoid.

She put the can away and walked down the road, glancing at the red truck every now and then before she picked up the pace to find help.

 

* * *

 

Lucille was in deep concentration, the pencil tip going tap-tap-tap each time it slipped between her fingers. She wrote the word 'ALAS' in the boxes and crossed out number 12.

She had decided to visit Roxy at Rosalie's Diner to take her home when she was done with her shift.

Roxanne was leaning against the counter on the other side of it, standing in her yellow uniform with a cute white apron.

Lucille always hated the look of those, they were too...cheerful and perky for her taste.

Roxy had an arm tucked under her bosom while she bit on her nails. She was watching the news...

The reporter on the television was clearly worried herself as she brought the news, _"...16179 suspected cases of rabies, including 1423 deaths. This is a rapidly growing outbreak with some unprecedented features. Suspected cases have been increasing very quickly, tripling over the last two weeks. This is the first large-scale, and fastest spreading rabies outbreak to hit any country..."_

"Media always exaggerates..." Lucille scoffed. She frowned at her crossword puzzle then looked up at Roxy, "Stylin' foam, six letters."

Roxy lowered her hand and looked at her sister with disbelief. She couldn't understand how calm Lucille can be when all this was happening right here in Georgia. In their own little town.

She grabbed the pot of freshly brewed coffee and wandered over to a patron sitting at a table by the window. "Mousse," she shot over her shoulder.

Lucille nodded slowly, her lips curling slightly, "Ah, mousse." She filled in the boxes, "Yer such a girl..."

"Hah," Roxy snickered, "You know, you should know this stuff. It's part of bein' a lady!"

She had just walked past the counter when the doors were pushed open with a cry for help.

She turned around and, "Mickey!! Oh my God!" She put the coffee pot aside and rushed to his side.

Mickey burst through the doors carrying an elderly man. As soon as he spotted his girl he rushed towards her. "Roxy, call an ambulance. Pops ain't doin' so good," he said in a breathy voice.

While Roxy called for an ambulance on her phone, Lucille helped Mickey place the man on the floor and made a makeshift pillow with her flannel shirt.

The old man was soaked in sweat. His skin a sickly grey tint.

Lucille noticed the blood on the young man's arm. "What happened?" she asked warily.

Mickey was panting, he followed her gaze to his arm, "Yea...Some psycho bit me earlier. It was weird, I dunno what his problem was. But I'm fine, it just stings is all," he reassured the woman while trying to stay calm himself.

"He wasn't feelin' good," he said, motioning to his grandfather, "but he insisted he still wanted to go out huntin'. But then it got really bad in the truck just now, the diner was nearby...so..."

Roxy tried to comfort her boyfriend. Lucille on the other hand was staring at the sick man, he was wailing about pain and mumbling about something she didn't quite get. _Okay...maybe the news was right and this is real..._

She listened how his moans turned into strange guttural sounds. But there was another sound that she couldn't place, like it didn't belong in the scene. A thumping.

_Where was that thumping coming from?_

The first thing Lucille noticed when she woke up was the splitting headache.

Her eyes fluttered open, the world around her still a haze. Her glasses were cracked and sitting crooked on her nose. She looked past the broken windshield and saw how the truck was pretty much totaled now.

It didn't quite sink in for her yet that they had crashed.

She leaned forward, wincing at the throbbing in her head and the bruising she felt forming on her chest. With a groan she took off her seatbelt and pulled down her white tank top and saw the marks left behind on her bosom and left shoulder.

"Yaaay technology," she muttered sarcastically. She was grateful that Roxy was such a safety freak because her seatbelt saved her life.

"Roxy..." she groaned looking at the empty seat next to her. Lucille blinked a couple of times, as if the action would somehow make her sister magically reappear. _She's not here? What? Wait...ugh._ She couldn't think with all that moaning and thumping!

She looked over to her left only to let out a yelp, frantically crawling backwards to Roxy's seat when she saw a large man banging against the door, pressing his torn and blood caked face against the window.

She slowly took off her sunglasses, mouth agape staring at the man in horror. "To hell with the government, this ain't rabies," she grumbled in a shaky voice.

She saw movement around the truck and noticed another person shuffling about, doing the same thing as his hungry friend. They were acting just like Mickey did, crazed and determined to take a chunk out of her.

So here she was; trapped in her shitty car, surrounded by these 'Freaks' and Roxanne was nowhere to be seen. She kept looking back and forth between the crazed folk, debating what she should do. If she could even do anything?

She started to look around and rummaged through the car, trying to find a solution but instead found Roxanne's camera. It was lying on the floor by the backseat. That's when she noticed that Roxanne's bag was missing. _So that means...she made it out._

Briefly she smiled at the thought before it turned into a frown. _She took the bag and fuckin' left me?!_ She clenched her jaw and sucked in air. She was about to crawl over the backseat to try and look out the windows but when she placed her hand on the headrest she noticed some writing on her palm.

 

_'Dahlonega, Getting Help -Roxy'_

 

Lucille's anger dissipated at reading the message, "What the fuck is Dahlonega?"

She must've hit her head harder than she thought. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to concentrate through the headache before finding her target on the dashboard. "Dahlonega's gotta be a place, right?" she pondered.

She picked up the GPS and searched for the town. She was proud at how well Roxanne was handling the situation. The girl was only trying to help; Lucille was passed out and she panicked.

She felt a pang of guilt now, she really needed to be less controlling of the girl.

She looked up at the ceiling sighing heavily, "Ava...I'm tryin'," mumbling to a distant memory.

Now that the anger and panic have subsided she tried to organize her thoughts, taking things one step at the time.

She glared at the Freaks clawing at the doors then looked towards the direction she needed to take before gathering her duffel bag. She put on her sunglasses again and stuffed Roxanne's camera in her bag.

She then scooted back to her own seat and bends down, reaching underneath it and pulled out a metal box. Inside was her Magnum revolver and the ammo box.

She looked back and forth between the weapon and the Freaks. Having the big guy on the driver's side and the other one on the passenger's.

Nodding slowly, she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins while shouting at her assailants, "Yea, ya'll just...just keep goin' at it! That's right!"

With a snap she shut the chamber and lifted the gun, flashing it at the people moaning and banging against the car.

"See that?!" she shouted, trying to look tough while looking between the two, "It's loaded, so get the FUCK away from me!!" She pointed the gun at them and still they didn't respond.

Then she heard the glass break on her side. The Freak was placing so much force against the already damaged window that it was starting to break.

She shuddered. She didn't want to do this, but she also didn't want to die.

She took deep breaths when she placed her bag next to her, readying herself and pumping herself up even more. She turned to the door on the passenger side, looking over her shoulder again to see how the big guy was already reaching through the broken window with his arms.

She opened the door to a crack first then with one big kick she forced the door open, slamming it into the other guy. She quickly climbed out and pointed the gun at him while he was still down.

"Stop! Do not make me do this!" she pleaded one last time.

She glanced over at the big one again who was now making his way around the truck while the other one was crawling towards her feet with a gurgle. A bloodied hand grasping her boot.

"Fuck."

She pulled the trigger shooting him right in the head. She shook his hand from her boot and quickly turned around, just in time too.

The larger Freak had just walked around the truck, reaching out to her as his groaning grew louder and more urgent.

Lucille fired another shot at him, shocked that he was still moving. "I shot ya in the chest..." She shot him again and again, still he was moving.

Lucille stepped back, tripping over the first guy with a cry. She quickly took her glasses off and then shot the man in the head before he could get a chunk out of her. And down he went tumbling over her legs.

Lucille panted and leaned back on her elbow for a bit, trying to catch her breath.

But the commotion must've drawn the attention of the third Freak who suddenly emerged from the woods.

The decaying woman lunged towards her but Lucille couldn't get away. She tried to kick the fat corpse off her legs but failed. So she fired her last bullet and missed, "Oh fuck!"

She tossed the gun aside and held out her arms to try and keep the woman off of her.

Frantically she began to search for the strap around her right thigh, trying to grasp her knife.

The woman's weight was taking a toll on her. The Freak was inching closer and closer, snapping her teeth at her. And when Lucille finally got the knife out she stabbed wildly at the woman with a primal scream. Her neck, her shoulder, her sides, nothing worked.

The Freak just kept going, her hands painfully clamping down on Lucille's arms.

"Die already!!" she screeched at her and with one more try she stabbed her in the head, right into the temple. The moment the blade buried itself to the hilt the woman ceased and collapsed on top of her.

Lucille froze, panting heavily as tears streamed down her cheeks. She slowly let go of the embedded knife, blood seeping onto her clothes and staining her hands.

She began to push the dead off of her with trembling hands. Rolling the stabbed woman to the side and then carefully slipping from underneath the large man.

The adrenaline was still rushing through her as she crawled backwards until her back was against a tree.

She tried to calm down, and when she did; her heartbeat steady again. For a few moments she wondered if perhaps this was a nightmare after all. Hope that if she closed her eyes long enough she would wake up...but she didn't.

She felt a tear roll down her cheek and wiped it away with her hand but frowned when her cheek felt even wetter and stickier than before. When she looked down at her hand she grimaced, it was covered in dark blood. She quickly wiped her hand on her tank top, suddenly fearing for the disease to infect her as well.

Lucille crawled back up, pushing herself off the tree and walked towards the truck in a hurry. She took her duffel bag and took out the first piece of clothing she saw and sat down in the car.

She pulled down the sun visor that was now barely dangling off its hinges, looking at her reflection with disgust.

Not only was her left cheek streaked with tears and blood, but she was dirty from falling onto the ground and had injuries as well.

For some reason seeing them made her more aware of the pain she was in. She gingerly touched the wounds, relieved to see that the tainted blood did not come into contact with the cuts and split lip.

She searched around the car for the bottle of water that she knew was here somewhere. Soaking a corner of the T-shirt she was holding and began to clean her face and hands.

Her mind wandering to Roxanne when she did. She didn't want to think about the worst, she wouldn't allow it. But Roxy wasn't exactly the fighting type...

She tossed the T-shirt away. "Alright, that's enough..." she said with growing frustration. She wasted enough time dealing with those fucks and cleaning herself up.

She tossed the bag outside the truck before rummaging further through the debris, checking if there was anything else she could use here. The bottle of water was a given. She also found the old, grey blanket; figured that it might be useful for when the night falls.

She then stepped out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut. She placed the blanket and bottle of water over the bag for a bit. Turning to the trio of corpses but approaching the female one.

She bent down and carefully pulled the blade out of the woman's skull, fighting back the nausea when she became aware of the smells wafting her way and hearing the squishy noises of brain matter and goop. With a grimace she wiped the blade onto the woman's shirt, muttering a 'sorry' at her.

She quickly got up, staring upwards and covering her nose and mouth with the back of her hand, waiting whether she was going to puke or not. "It ain't like the movies," she said with revulsion.

Movies don't really explain the rotting process of a human body, nor the smells and fluids that come with it. The thought of it alone was enough to make her turn and empty her stomach contents by the trees.

Once recovered she placed the hunting knife back in its strap then turned around and found her Magnum again.

She began to think as she glanced back at the corpses. So far her encounters with them showed that head trauma was the only thing that stopped them. She slowly figured it out, "Makes sense. The brain controls the body." She made a mental note about it for the next one.

She then went back to her duffel bag to reload her gun before sliding it in the back of her jeans and put the rest of the ammo in her bag. She stuffed the bottle and the blanket in it too, barely able to fully close it.

Huffing at the extra weight she had to carry now before slinging the strap over her shoulder. She winced at the pressure on the seatbelt bruising. She looked around the road and the woods before she put her glasses back on her nose and began her journey to Dahlonega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think about this chapter so far?  
> I was hoping that instead of just diving into the story with Canon Characters, I'd let the readers get to know the OC's a bit and get some background between them. :3
> 
>  
> 
> \--Teaser for next Chapter--
> 
> "What do ya plan to do?" she asked him, breaking the silence in the room.
> 
> James turned to her, visibly struggling to answer that question.
> 
> "It'd be better if ya keep the kids away from her-"
> 
> James' facial features cracked and he looked her dead in the eyes, "Let me decide what's best for -my- family..."
> 
> Lucille scoffed, chuckled almost, "Twelve hours..."


	4. Twelve Hours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloes Ao3,
> 
> I hope everyone had a wonderful time during the holidays? :P  
> Chapter 9 is almost finished, then it's onwards to chapter 10! Although the holidays and new years will most likely slow me down still. Oh well, chapters are on the way nonetheless. ^^
> 
> But for now, here's chapter 3. I hope you guys will enjoy it!  
> Don't be afraid to leave a review :3

Lucille readjusted the strap of her duffel bag, wincing again at the pain the pressure was giving her.

She slowed down her pace when she entered the town and then stopped in the middle of the road, staring. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, _had it gotten this bad?_

She carefully approached a mangled corpse, her hand lingering over her thigh strap. She was disturbed by the amount of corpses that were scattered about the streets.

She looked around, her thumb gently rubbing over the 'Ganesha' tattoo on her right pinky. Praying that Roxanne would not be among those bodies.

She thought that the trailer park they came from was terrible but Dahlonega looked like a gory ghost town compared to theirs. She figured that looters must've hit early too by the sight of some of the stores.

The deeper she went into town, the more dead were roaming about. She was getting increasingly more anxious at the thought of Roxy being stuck here. She knew she had to be careful now.

Slowly she sneaked from car to car with her survival knife, trying to hide and avoid as many of those Freaks as she could.

When she spotted movement inside one of the cars she was crouching next to, she frowned.

A young man peeked at her, and he was very much alive judging by how his eyes grew wide and then ducked again.

She opened the door and immediately the man began to protest. "No, no, no! Get your own spot! You're not taking this car!" he said in a harsh whisper, not wanting to draw attention to the undead while trying to kick his feet at her.

Lucille shielded herself from the first couple of kicks heading her way but then clamped down onto his feet while shushing him, "Shh... I don't want yer stupid car. I need to ask a question, that's it," she said quietly while trying to hold him still.

The man stopped kicking and pondered before he nervously agreed, "O-okay, what is it? Make it fast!"

Lucille nodded, "Did ya happen to see an Indian girl wanderin' around here? Short, brunette, kinda chubby?" She arched a brow, impatiently awaiting his answer.

He shook his head so she retreated and closed the car before moving on again, annoyed by his answer. _Useless..._ "He'll be dead by nightfall..." she muttered to herself. _Who the fuck hides in a car with those shits around?_

She turned into a street that seemed to be less crowded.

She crouched down, silently assessing the situation and figuring out where to go next. At this rate she might never find Roxy, and she can't just yell her name around the streets either without risking to 'ring the dinner bell'.

She then spotted a small Walgreen's across the street at the corner. _That's lucky_ , she thought. She could really use some painkillers for her head and maybe a first aid kit if there were any. The windows and door didn't seem to be in a bad shape but the lights were out.

After looking around the street for Freaks she quickly crossed it.

She carefully opened the door, hoping not to be too loud. She took her glasses off and hooked them on her cleavage. For a brief moment she debated whether she should put her bag down but decided against it, not wanting to have it stolen.

She kept her eyes and ears open while she rummaged through the leftovers of the pharmacy. She found 1 bottle of aspirin, and half a box of small band-aids. This place was hit hard from the beginning.

When she spotted a box with some bandages she put away her knife and stuffed the other items down her bag first.

She walked towards the bandages having just enough time to place her hand on it when she heard footsteps heading towards her.

They sounded too fast to belong to someone dead, so in reflex she reached for her gun and spun around, ready to point it at whoever tried to ambush her.

It was another man, more rugged looking. He had a bat in his hands and pushed Lucille against the shelves. "Those bandages are mine!" he said, using his size to intimidate her as he tried to take the box from her hands.

Lucille tried to push back but it made him chuckle at her futile attempt. "Come on, lady! I'm bigger than you."

With a grunt she managed to lift the gun up and press it against his belly. "But -I- have a gun," she hissed with clenched teeth.

The man immediately released her when he felt that familiar pressure pressing in his gut, holding up his arms. "Easy, girl..." he said with a hoarse voice.

She cocked the hammer of the revolver now that there was a distance between them. "Get out."

When the man admitted defeat and left, Lucille let out a heavy breath. Panting and visibly shaking. She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing back bad memories as she eased her breathing before stuffing the box of bandages in her bag.

She slid her gun back behind her jeans, covering it with her tank top, and put her sunglasses on.

Lucille knew since the beginning of their evacuation that it was the living they needed to fear more than the dead. When people are desperate, they are unpredictable. This time she had Lady Luck on her side, but she knew it won't last forever.

 

* * *

 

Roxanne smiled warmly at Shondra as she handed a glass of water to her. While the woman sipped Roxy carefully pulled up her sleeve, checking the bite mark again.

She tried to keep her face blank, not wanting to scare her or the others. But all she could think about was Mickey and how Shondra was showing similar symptoms. She's already looking feverish.

And Shondra already looked like she was uncomfortable with just sitting...

Roxy pulled the sleeve back down and recommended the woman to take a nap. She looped an arm around Shondra's waist and helped her to the bedroom, glancing at her husband when passing him by, a worried frown on her brow.

James wouldn't meet her gaze, his eyes focused on his wife instead while sitting by their son. Roxy had explained what would happen but he wouldn't listen to her.

She sighed when she came back out and walked towards the window to peer outside.

They were hiding in a bar, the upstairs specifically. The owner must've lived here, it was a small apartment. It was fairly clean but dark, and outdated.

She rested her elbows on the window sill, her chin in her hand as she glanced around through the curtains. Watching the occasional Freak wandering about aimlessly until she saw movement by the Walgreen's, she leaned a bit closer to the glass waiting to see who would emerge. The undead or the living?

She saw a female figure slowly emerging from the store, she had blonde hair and a duffel bag.

Roxanne frowned, her chin slowly lifting from her hand. When the blonde woman turned to reveal her face as she carefully walked down the road, Roxanne nearly squealed in excitement.

She stood up straight and tapped her hands on the glass furiously. "Ghost! Ghost!" she yelled.

Mike and James rushed over to her, James grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the window, chastising her about the yelling, "Are you trying to kill us?! What is it?" he asked his companion.

Mike was looking out, making sure the curtains kept him hidden. "There's a girl. She's alive," he reported before looking at the rest of the group.

Roxanne nodded repeatedly, her arm still in a tight grip by the tall, African-American man, "It's Ghost, I mean Lucille, my sister. The one I talked about earlier, the car crash?"

An older, dark-blonde woman in a waitress outfit was sitting on the couch and had one arm around the 9-year old boy's shoulder, and another arm looped around the waist of a baby girl that was sitting on her lap, not even a year old.

She remembered Roxanne's cry for help very well, "Well let's get her inside then before they see her."

Roxy glanced hopeful back to the father and Mike, waiting for their approval.

James nodded and released her arm, "I'm coming with you. You two stay here," he ordered the others.

The two headed into the bar area; navigating the upturned tables and chairs.

Roxanne was the first to reach the front door but was stopped by James as he placed his hand on the door, looming over her. "Calm," he said gently to her, "We don't want to attract -them-."

Roxanne took a deep breath and nodded, he was right. Her excitement can not jeopardize this group.

They checked the large window, peeking through the cracks of the nailed down boards to make sure there were no undead roaming nearby.

Roxanne then peeked out the door and searched for her sister. She scanned the street where she last saw her and when she found her, she waved at her and called her name as quietly as she could.

Lucille had managed to sneak up behind a Freak and drove her blade through the back of its skull. Gently and quietly placing him on the ground.

She was wiping the blade on its clothes when she heard her name being called.

She looked up and glanced around until she saw Roxanne standing by a bar. She had to take off her glasses, to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She smiled when she saw her baby sister alive and well.

She crossed the street and quickly entered the bar.

As soon as she got inside Roxanne burst into tears, apologizing profusely about leaving her behind.

Lucille just hugged her tightly and shushed her, "It's alright, baby girl, ya did the right thing. I'm here now," she comforted Roxy, rubbing a hand across her back while letting her cry onto her shoulder.

James cleared his throat and placed a hand on Roxanne's shoulder, "Let's go back upstairs so she can meet the others and rest." When Roxanne had talked about her sister, he didn't expect them to be the adopted type.

Lucille eyed him suspiciously before she nodded at him... _Others?._.. She hooked her glasses in her cleavage again as she followed them.

Roxanne didn't let go of her hand as they headed upstairs, fearing that Lucille might disappear again if she didn't.

And neither did Lucille...

 

* * *

 

Mike was the first to greet them, "Everything alright?" he asked, curious about the newcomer.

James nodded at him, reassuring that everyone was fine but just to make sure he went to the window of the living room and slightly moved the curtains, making sure they didn't attract any unwanted attention.

Roxanne sniffled and took a deep breath to calm herself down before she introduced her sister to everyone. "Everyone meet Lucille. Or you can call her Ghost," she chuckled.

Lucille didn't mind the nickname but she did mind all the staring everyone did and smiled awkwardly with a small wave. She was surprised to see children though.

She glanced up at the Caucasian guy named Mike, he was a bit on the bulky side. _A tough guy_ , she mentally noted.

The man frowned at her when his gaze drifted down her body, "Your blood or theirs?"

Lucille looked down at herself, realizing her tank top and jeans were covered in goop and blood from killing Freaks.

Roxanne's eyes widened at the sight, "What happened?" she asked, holding Lucille's arm even tighter.

Lucille reassured the group, "Theirs. I ran into some trouble on my way here. I wasn't bit, I'm fine," she quickly mentioned. She looked at Roxy and reassured her again personally, trying to pry her iron grip from the arm bruises.

The last part made James tense up, thinking about his wife so he discreetly went to check up on her.

Lucille followed the man's movements with her dual-colored eyes, noticing another person hidden in the bedroom before the door closed. By the way they talk and dressed she could tell that they weren't from around here. It showed they were more upper class than she and Roxy was.

"I'm Mike," the bulky man said with a smile and extended his hand.

Lucille turned and shook his hand, "Nice to meet ya."

Roxanne took her to the couch and helped her take off her duffel bag, noticing how she briefly winced at the action. "You sure you're okay?" she asked but then grimaced when she saw the purple bruise on her shoulder.

Lucille groaned and then sat down giving up on hiding her pain, audibly relishing at the comfort the couch gave her. "It's bruisin' from the car crash, I'm fine. The seat belt got me good though."

Lucille turned to the people sitting next to her; the waitress and the kids, waiting for Roxanne to introduce them.

"This is Mary, she's the waitress of this bar. And these are Dwayne and Cora," Roxy said with a small smile as she sat down on the floor.

Dwayne looked a bit shy but managed to say a small 'hello'.

Lucille glanced at the children, figuring that the boy had to be around 8 or 10 years old, give or take. And the baby..."How old's the baby?" she asked.

Mary glanced down at the baby, not really sure how old she is. So the father answered instead, having rejoined the others, "Cora's 10 months old. She was a surprise."

Lucille turned in her seat with a small groan, listening to the father. Not knowing what to say or what she was expected to say when Mary and James kept looking at her. "She's...very pretty," she answered after a few moments of awkward silence, she was not good at talking with strangers.

Roxanne noticed and helped her out, "Uhm, this is James. He was the one that let me stay here, and his wife Shondra is resting in the bedroom. If it weren't for him then..." she couldn't finish the sentence but Lucille had a pretty good idea of what would have happened.

Lucille glanced over her shoulder, then nodded and quickly thanked the man, "Thank you, very much. She's all I have...I. Thank you."

Mike got curious, "So...how did you find us? I mean her," he said as he sat down in the armchair.

 

* * *

 

Lucille leaned back when she was done retelling her encounters by the crash site, rubbing her hand over her face and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Roxanne was deeply disturbed, she remembered the noises she heard in the woods. _Why did I leave her alone?_ She felt a tear roll down her cheek but then quickly composed herself when Lucille grumbled at the sight of tears.

"Well, if it's any consolation. I learned somethin' from it, ya can only kill 'em by gettin' 'em in the head," Lucille said trying to cheer Roxy up. She knew the girl must feel like crap, gently lifting her chin, "Ya did good gettin' out of there and searchin' for help. Good thing ya locked the doors too."

Roxanne nodded.

Lucille smiled before her usual frown graced her facial features again, "Now quit bein' a baby!"

Roxy chuckled then glanced at her injuries and then the handprints on Lucille's arms. She couldn't help but still feel guilty for not checking the woods. Lucille almost died because of her.

Mary took the children and moved them to the small kitchen, to see if she could give them anything to eat and to give the sisters some privacy.

"Okay, show me," Roxy said, wanting to inspect the injuries herself.

Lucille didn't protest and let her play nurse to ease her nerves. As Roxy began to poke and prod at the cuts and bruises Lucille quickly remembered something, "Oh, I found some painkillers at that Walgreen's, and band-aids. It's in the bag."

James was quick to move when he heard 'painkillers', he quickly tore through Lucille's bag and when he found them he disappeared just as fast into the bedroom.

Lucille and Roxanne both stared at the door in surprise and shock at the man's boldness.

Lucille wasn't a fool though, she turned to Roxy and spoke in a low voice, "What's goin' on?"

Roxanne closed her eyes briefly and pressed her lips together before spilling the beans as she searched the duffel bag for those band-aids, "She's bit and he won't listen to me. I told him about...Mickey...but he says that his wife is stronger," she sadly said.

Lucille's upper lip twitched in annoyance and disgust, pondering about what to do; does she stay here with Roxy and risk another Mickey incident? Or does she pack her bags and try their luck elsewhere?

"How long since she's been bit?" she asked Roxy.

Roxy shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, it must've happened before I got here. But I could tell that she'll be in pain pretty soon and after that..."

Lucille waved a hand at her, not having to hear the rest to know how this evening will end.

"Oh, I got yer stupid camera too," Lucille muttered as she reached for her bag, sifting through the contents she pulled it out and handed it to Roxy.

The girl was pleased but her smile morphed into an embarrassed look, the kind kids had when they were in trouble.

"What?" she asked.

Roxy bit her lip, "I...lost my bag when I ran away from those things."

Lucille blinked and sighed, "Fine. I'll keep it for now."

Roxy nodded and continued tending to Lucille's face, sticking band-aids on the cuts.

 

* * *

 

It was getting darker out. The group had spend some time getting to know each other better, exchanging stories about their evacuation. Some even had theories about where this virus might come from, the popular theme was 'conspiracy' or 'God's Will'. Even Shondra had briefly made her appearance to meet Lucille.

Lucille was surprised that the woman still cared about making 'proper acquaintances' when she was pretty much dead already. It made Lucille nervous how her trigger finger was getting itchy...

It was quiet now, everyone was asleep except for James who was looking out the window keeping guard.

Shondra slept in the bedroom with the children, Mike had nodded off in the armchair with arms crossed over his chest and ball cap pulled low. Mary had taken the couch, and Roxanne and Lucille were fine sleeping on the ground and using the duffel bag as a pillow.

Lucille couldn't find sleep either, not while knowing that there's an infected woman in the other room. She had her sunglasses on, her eyes and ears trained on the bedroom door, one arm was tucked behind her head and the other wrapped around Roxy's shoulder.

Roxy had her head on Lucille's shoulder and both were covered in that old blanket Lucille salvaged. Roxy must've been really drained from this emotional roller coaster because she practically fell asleep as soon as she laid her head down.

Lucille turned her gaze at the father, he had a stern look on his face and was in deep thought. "What do ya plan to do?" she asked him, breaking the silence in the room.

James turned to her, visibly struggling to answer that question.

Lucille watched him unmoving, "It'd be better if ya keep the kids away from her...should be any moment now," she coldly said. Lucille wasn't the type to sugarcoat things or pretend that everything will be okay (except for Roxanne). She always thought it was a waste of time to beat around the bush.

James' facial features cracked and he looked her dead in the eyes, "Let me decide what's best for -my- family. You don't know Shondra like I do, she's strong. She'll beat this thing."

Lucille scoffed, chuckled almost. "That's what we said when Roxy's boyfriend was delusional from the fever and cryin' out in pain..." she said while staring at Roxanne's sleeping form tucked closely next to hers.

James shook his head and held up both his hands calling this conversation done.

"Twelve hours," Lucille added.

James glanced at her, knowing she had more to say.

"Twelve hours for the fever to hit, him to die, and tryin' to eat Roxy..." she frowned and swallowed, "...And for me to kill him to save her," she added quietly.

 

* * *

 

The night went by without incident. Mike had taken the second watch so James could tend to his wife who was getting worse by the minute. Even the painkillers that he had been hogging for her were no longer working.

Lucille was pissed at the waste.

Back in the bedroom Shondra caressed her husband's cheek, "You have to let me go. I'm not going to get better and you know it," she said with strained voice. Her brow sticky with sweat and face contorted in pain, even breathing was getting more and more difficult for her. She just wanted for this to end and she refused to come back like those monsters...

James was crying, he didn't want to give up yet.

"You have to think about the children now, they need you..." she struggled.

James sobbed as he dragged a kitchen knife across the blankets...

People woke up late, everyone had a pretty rough night due to the wails of pain by Shondra and the cries of the baby. At some point even the children were brought out of the room so they could get better sleep and not witness their mother's suffering.

They had just finished breakfast, lucky for them there was still food left in the cupboards and Mary managed to feed everyone.

Glancing at the people Lucille didn't want to wait anymore so she decided to ask the obvious, "So what're ya'll plannin' to do now? Ya can't stay here forever, food will run out eventually and those Freaks will grow more desperate by the day," she looked around, observing their reactions.

When people struggled to come up with a concrete plan (or stupid plans), like reinforcing this bar and using the town for supplies, Roxanne looked at Lucille as if they were a hopeless bunch. She gave her a pleading look, clearly they needed help.

Lucille rolled her eyes at Roxy and then nodded with a 'shooing' motion as she moved past her to rummage through her duffel bag.

So Roxy got out of her way and offered them a solution, "Well we were on our way to the Smokey Mountain Campgrounds. We heard the military set up a refugee camp there. Supposedly there's food and water, medical support too. You can come with us...?"

Mike and Mary were all for it, both agreeing that it does sound better than being cooped up in here.

Mike looked nervous for a bit, "We...need to tell James about this. With Shondra..." he shook his head a bit, unsure if the little family would follow them or not.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," the tall man said with tear-stained cheeks and bloodied knife in hand.

Lucille looked up, carrying a stack of clean clothes for herself.

"She's gone," he said and then looked hard at Lucille. No matter how much he truly fucking hated her...she was right.

"I gave her mercy," he said partially to himself and to Lucille.

The boy started to cry and ran into his father's arms, causing James to drop the knife and focus on his son.

They decided to give the family some time to grief while the rest prepared their bags and looked around the apartment for anything that they could salvage and bring with them. Mainly some snacks and drinks for the road and some medicine they found.

Lucille in the meanwhile had changed into clean clothes, discarding the ones stained in blood. She didn't want to risk infection by keeping them. She wore another jeans with a long-sleeved, grey T-shirt made from cotton. She had the sleeves rolled up till her elbows, exposing more tattoos on her left arm.

They were Sanskrit prayers inked in black running from her wrist to the elbow, and the back of her hand had a gray-scale mandala in her own design.

Mike was looking out the window, to see if he could spot any Freaks but also to see if there was a car nearby large enough to take them all. He called for James and Lucille to show them, "There, see the grey one? Seems big enough if the kid sits on someone's lap," he said waiting for their opinions.

James looked back at the group and the stuff they were to carry. He nodded, turning to the others, "It's a plan then. We go to the minivan together, toss our stuff in the trunk while the girls take the kids in the backseat and then we head for the refugee camp."

Lucille agreed silently with a firm nod before moving to Roxy.

Mary and Roxanne were glad that he had picked himself up again, especially for Dwayne.

But then the boy blurted out, "What if the car is out of gas?" he asked with a worried expression towards his father.

Lucille piped up then, pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder, "The van will have enough gas to get us outta town, we can find more along the road if we need to." With that she left and took Roxanne by the hand heading downstairs. "Let's move, people," she shot over her shoulder.

Mike and James went ahead, sneaking past the undead and stabbing them in the back with a kitchen knife and the hunting knife that Lucille borrowed Mike...much to her chagrin. She offered to help dispatch the Freaks but the men wouldn't have it. Between the women, she was the most capable of protecting them.

As soon as the men reached the van, Lucille ordered the others to follow suit as she guided them to the car. And like Lucille said, there was enough gas.

The drive out of town was difficult at first but the rest of the trip was clear, the group was a little more at ease and hopeful again as they headed to the Smokey Mountains Campgrounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, that's not Negan. Just a coincidence.  
> I actually never watched past season 2 of the TV-show. (i'm very behind but am aware of most spoilers, sadly. I'll catch up on the seasons eventually don't worry.).  
> So some features in the story are actually pure coincidence, you'll notice a few more along the way. These OC's are pre-established from other stories so I didn't feel like altering them or the plotlines.  
> So bare with me on this one. :P
> 
>    
> \--Teaser for Next Chapter--
> 
> He lowered his crossbow, "Merle?"
> 
> "Well, lookee here. Looks like we had the same idea. I figured I needed to pay a little visit to whoever ratted me out," he said with a sneer as he rummaged through Lucille's bedroom.
> 
> Daryl didn't believe it, "It's not 'er. She wouldn't do that," he said.
> 
> Merle looked up at him with a smirk, "Ohh, no-no, Little Brother. Dun' go defendin' 'er. She has the most to lose and ya know it! She wouldn't bat an eye for either of us."


	5. Rose Elephant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Ao3,  
> Chapter 4 is here, and chapter 10 is being worked on. ^^
> 
> I read an article somewhere explaining that writing can be turned into a daily habit by forcing yourself to write -at least- 400 words a day (or a different word count). So far it's been helping me with keeping the creativity alive for a bit longer without overdoing myself or giving myself a burnout from stress. Maybe it's a technique that you guys can use as well. :)
> 
> And thank you 'Guests' for the Kudos!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you guys think. <3

Dwayne looked out the window in awe, his small hands on the glass as he sat more upright in Roxy's lap.

The campgrounds were crowded with tents and cars. Firefighters and police officers did their best to regulate everything, to keep everyone calm and have answers for their questions. Campfire were burning brightly in the distance here and there.

"There's so many people here," the little boy said. He and Roxy sat on the left side of the backseat, and Cora was sitting on Mary's lap in the middle.

Lucille was brooding, she wasn't comfortable being squished with a stranger and kids. If she had her way she would be the one driving. But instead she was watching out the window on her side.

Though she was relieved that they finally made it to safety but at the same time she was a little anxious about the amount of people.

Meanwhile James was focusing on trying not to run anyone over, and Mike and Mary were both looking around with relieved smiles on their faces, glad to have found a safe haven and a chance to see if any of their family members made it here as well.

Their trip took longer than they expected. The closer they got to the campgrounds the more roadblocks they encountered. Not to mention that they had to make frequent stops to stretch their legs and take some bathroom breaks, and find gas too.

Then there was the challenge to try and keep a baby; happy, fed, and stink free. They had no choice but to spend a night at a truck stop. And Lucille was even more cranky to find out that she had to sacrifice some T-shirts for the baby because they were out of diapers, and she was the smallest size they had. And nobody wanted to take clothes away from Dwayne, so... Roxanne had some chuckles out of it, much to Lucille's annoyance.

A deputy made James slow down the car, waving his arms about with a smile as he approached the vehicle. "Afternoon folks, where are you guys from?" the man asked them with a friendly smile as he scanned the passengers. When he saw the children he looked at them with pity and sadness.

James was the one to speak up, "Officer," he greeted him with a nod, "We all came from Dahlonega, at least that's where we met each other. Me and the kids are from Washington, and everyone else is...from around I guess," he explained while glancing at the people in the backseat.

To be fair he didn't really pay attention when they shared their stories with each other when they first met. And right now he just wanted to focus on the kids, get settled and wait for all this to blow over.

The deputy nodded and then frowned as he looked at all the new faces again, "The mother?" he carefully asked but by the sad looks he received from everyone he didn't need any explanation.

He held his hand up with an understanding nod, "It's alright. Well...It's a good thing ya'll came here. It's pretty crowded so I suggest you try and park your car over there in the field, and find a spot to set up camp. If you don't have a tent then we have some spares," he explained as he pointed to the fields and then the maze of colorful tents. "When you're settled, find anyone in charge and they'll help you with supplies or medical aid," the deputy said before looking at the baby, "And then we'll see if we can feed the little one, maybe find some diapers too."

He then pulled away from the van, tapping the rooftop to let them pass before talking into his walkie, alerting the others of new arrivals.

The group separated their ways in the end. Mike and Mary ventured off to one section of the campgrounds, trying to locate family. The others went to another, knowing very well that there's no one left for them.

They received a spare tent from one of the volunteers here. They were small and cheap but it gave them shelter. They received very little supplies, much to their surprise.

Resources were getting more and more scarce the less frequent the military stopped by to resupply them. And food and water would only be handed out at specific times.

 

* * *

 

Roxanne looked around in fascination while she was holding Cora, gently rocking her back and forth. _So many families lost their home and loved ones._ She thought about Mickey and then looked down at the little girl in her arms, thinking about Shondra.

Roxy always thought that Cora looked like her mother; caramel skin with big brown eyes, curly hair, and the puffiest cheeks she ever saw.

She looked around again as night was gently falling and frowned at something she noticed. _Where were the military?_

She turned to the others, watching how James was spending some time with Dwayne. He was teaching him how to set up a tent while Lucille busied herself with her own, making faster progress. Roxy could tell she had a lot on her mind despite hiding behind those broken glasses.

She adjusted the baby in her arms as the little girl was looking back and forth at the new sights and whatever sound caught her attention, quietly suckling on her fingers.

Roxy kneeled down near Lucille, "Ghost? Have you noticed how there's no military here, at all?" she asked in a low voice while looking around with a suspicious look.

Lucille looked up at her, her eyes peeking from under the glasses. She glanced around trying to spot the large white tents she saw earlier while exploring, "Ya see those?" she pointed at them in the distance. "That's what they meant with military support. It's where they store the food and water maybe ammo too, and it's got a medical area for those that got hurt on their way here," Lucille said when she looked back at Roxy, "Those officers and firefighters, are all we have."

Roxanne listened to her and looked at the white tents, needless to say they were both expecting more out of this. More...presence maybe?

She frowned and she could tell there was more that Lucille wasn't telling her. "Ghost?" she asked again.

Lucille was annoyed, she wanted to be left alone; clear her thoughts. "What?" she asked sourly.

Noting her bad mood Roxy simply shook her head and instead busied herself with the baby, "Nevermind."

Lucille couldn't tell why but she was having a bad feeling about this, it was more of a...gut feeling. After what they had experienced during the past few days, learning from what they have witnessed with those Freaks...

Lucille glanced around as she got up and wiped the dirt of her hands. She didn't like the noises everyone was making; loud chatter, car engines going on and off, the clanging of pots and pans, the campfires, the lights, the odors.

Then there's the knowledge that bitten people were being treated closeby, the constant worry about whether or not the infection will be contained. And surrounding them was nothing but open field and woods...

She didn't finish her thoughts as she pulled the tent straight and checked the inside before moving their stuff. Which was really just 1 duffel bag, again they used it as a pillow and used the old blanket. The blue tent was just large enough for the two of them.

So when everyone slept, Lucille was wide awake, brooding again. Her thoughts turning to the Dixons as she caressed her necklace. _Wait. It's gone!_

She looked down and checked the tent floor and outside the tent but the necklace was nowhere to be found. How come she didn't notice it before?! _Ugh, must've lost it while fightin' those things._ She pouted at the loss. Besides the tattoos it was all she had left of a memory about Roxanne's mother.

 

* * *

 

He watched the water droplets fall into the sink. His calloused hands tightly gripping the sides of the porcelain as he was breathing hard.

He could still hear the screams, the gunshots. The sight of...his father and Buck being mauled to pieces.

He felt like a coward. He couldn't even help to put his father out of his misery, how his hand shook when he gripped his handgun and pointed it at him. Even after all these years and everything that happened between them...he still couldn't do it. So he had to watch as his uncle did it for him.

He grabbed the towel and wiped his face before looking up. His blue eyes staring at the person in the old mirror.

Daryl Dixon looked exactly like you'd expect from a redneck with his torn sleeves and oil stained pants. His closely cropped brown hair, a poorly kept goatee with a moustache to match and a hard look in his eyes.

Again he felt that same old anger, and same old shame building up. He plunged his fist hard into his reflection with a grunt, watching how some pieces of glass fell before he looked at the cuts on his knuckles.

He dismissed the pain, needing to feel something else other than disgust right now and walked out of the bathroom.

He spotted his uncle Jesse sitting by the table and bandaging his arm up. "How's the arm?" Daryl asked as he put on his leather vest.

Jesse nodded as he looked up, "It stopped bleedin' but I'm gonna need painkillers, 'n antibio-"

Daryl frowned when he heard shuffling and growling outside the cabin, "Shh...Listen," he said as he approached the windows, his fingers pulling on the blinds to peek through. "They're here already."

Jesse got up and looked over Daryl's shoulder to see the view.

Dozens of Eaters had spilled out of the woods, surrounding the cabin.

Jesse scratched his balding head, "We need to get the hell outta here," he said as he turned to fetch his rifle.

Daryl clenched his jaw and balled his fist, "What we need is kill every last one of 'em!" he retreated from the window when an Eater was getting closer to the porch.

Jesse grabbed his shoulder and faced him, "No we ain't. I know yer pissed but there's too many of 'em. Now gather whatever ya can."

He was right, Daryl thought as he made his way to the bunk beds to grab his duffel bag. He clenched his jaw, trying to keep his head cool as he gathered what little clothes he had and the ammo.

Before he joined his uncle by the front door he slid his hunting knife in the strap by his belt and slung his crossbow around his shoulder. "Ya ready?" he asked his uncle while taking his handgun.

Jesse nodded, carrying his own backpack and hunting rifle, "Remember, aim for the head. It's the only thing that'll kill 'em."

Daryl nodded and placed his hand on the door knob, waiting for Jesse to give the signal.

As soon as Jesse was ready, Daryl swung the door open and shot the Eater closest to him while Jesse shot a couple of his own with his rifle.

"The truck! Get to the truck!" he yelled at Daryl as they cleared a path through the crowd.

They barely escaped the herd's clutches when they reached the car. Both men just threw their stuff in the back of the pick-up before getting inside and then drove out of the woods as fast as they could.

 

* * *

 

Jesse kept turning the knobs of the radio, but all that came out of it was static. Not one radio station was working.

"Dead. Just...nothin'," he said as he gave up, trying to think about what to do. "That rabies outbreak was-" Jesse started before he got interrupted, again.

"Was bullshit, is what it is," Daryl said as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "That wasn't rabies, those people...Those weren't people," he said as he slammed the wheel in frustration before taking a deep breath to calm himself again.

Jesse gingerly rubbed his injured arm as he shook his head. He couldn't believe it either. They were aware of the outbreak before they went on their hunting trip. But up there in the Chattahoochee woods, they were completely cut off from the world. No TV, no radio, no help or warning at all. And no way on finding out that the outbreak got out of control. _Unless ya had a car, the only help ya'd be gettin' was gettin' to the nearest town. The nearest town..._

"Sedalia, we gotta warn those people," Jesse said, "We can grab some more supplies too then."

Daryl glanced at his uncle, anger turning into worry. He didn't think about Sedalia. He nodded, agreeing to the plan.

"What about Merle?" Daryl asked.

Jesse sighed and closed his eyes for a bit before tackling that beast.

Daryl could see the myriad of emotions displayed on his uncle's face and he didn't like any of them. "We ain't leavin' Merle!"

Jesse frowned and snapped back at him, "He'll be fine on 'is own!"

The men argued for a while until Jesse eventually gave in, "Alright, alright! Fine! We'll get the 'sumbitch..."

Daryl gave his uncle a firm nod, speeding up while trying to bypass a couple of cars that seemed to have been involved in an accident.

Jesse sighed, "It's just when ya'll boys are together ya seem to turn hay into shit..."

 

* * *

 

It was the afternoon by the time they arrived at the town. Sedalia was lost. Both men were still in the car, staying as quiet as they can and both realizing that things were even worse than they thought.

The only people left were the dead ones, not a store seemed salvageable and the streets were littered with trash and cars.

Jesse was the first to speak, "Well now we know why they were up there..."

Daryl scoffed, _yea, no more food._

Jesse then said, "Let's split up, find the stuff we need 'n get the hell outta here. Avoid 'em if ya can." With that said they both went their separate ways.

Jesse was trying to find some medical supplies and Daryl was busy siphoning gas from abandoned cars since the gas station was no longer operational. But both took the opportunity to salvage whatever was left behind here; cars, stores, homes...Finders keepers was the new rule of the world now.

While Daryl was checking the contents of a car, he spotted the entrance of the trailer park about a block away. He tried to ignore it at first but he wondered...He knew he had to be sure if he wanted to ease his mind.

With crossbow in hand he made his way to the trailer park, sneaking between trailers and cars. Once he reached the one where Lucille and Roxy lived he quickly got inside after seeing that their car was gone.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of death and the decaying body of Mickey in the kitchen area.

His stomach dropped... _That's Roxy's boyfriend_. Tucked partly underneath his leg Daryl saw something shiny. He picked it up and recognized Lucille's necklace; a rose quartz stone with a golden elephant attached to it.

 _Looks like the clasp broke,_ he noted silently.

He remembered her telling him she got it from Roxy's mom on her deathbed. Knowing the blonde, she'd probably want it back so without second thought he stuffed the piece of jewelry in his pocket.

Then he heard something in one of the bedrooms, making him jump and aim the crossbow at the door.

Carefully he approached it, trying to listen to figure out if whoever was on the other side was either alive or dead.

But when the door suddenly swung open his eyes grew wide and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He lowered the crossbow, "Merle?"

Merle was rummaging through Lucille's things, wondering if she had a hidden stash here. Anything that could link her to her guilt.

His search got interrupted when he heard footsteps outside the bedroom door.

The bulky man slowly got up and took out his handgun, flipping the safety off before aiming it on the door as the footsteps got closer. If it was one of those fuckers then he was going to have a blast letting some anger go.

He grabbed the door handle and swung it open, lifting the gun at head height and freezing when he saw his little brother.

He chuckled as he put his gun away, "Well, lookee here. Looks like we had the same idea," he said as he barged past him, salvaging some stuff.

Daryl didn't know how to feel. Glad that his brother was here? Angry for nearly killing him? Or shocked that he'd plunder the home of the woman that helped out his fat ass several times...On second thought...He wasn't surprised. "I thought ya'd be at Jake's. Why ya here?" Daryl asked him as he peeked into Lucille's bedroom, seeing the mess Merle left behind.

"I was arrested, for some drug thing," he said.

Again, Daryl wasn't surprised... "Yea?" the sarcasm thick in his voice as he leaned against the bedroom door frame.

"Yea...Until 'em pigs left me there to rot when fuckin' Armageddon came to the world. I stole the keys off of one of 'em while these Psychos were chewin' 'im up. Fought my way outta there and figured I needed to pay a little visit to whoever ratted me out," he said with a sneer, clearly pissed that someone had the balls to do this to him.

Daryl didn't believe it, not that there wasn't anyone that ratted him out but that Lucille would do such a thing. "It's not 'er. She wouldn't do that," he said.

Merle looked up at him with a smirk, "Ohh, no-no, Little Brother. Dun' go defendin' 'er. She had the most to lose and ya know it! She wouldn't bat an eye for either of us."

The brothers remained quiet as Merle stuffed his bag full of food and drinks, and whatever else he found was useful to him. He glanced at Daryl who was brooding, biting his nails.

"They're alive," he offered Daryl, smirking as the man perked up with interest.

The blue eyed man looked up at his big brother, lowering his hand, "The truck could've been stolen," he said, although he didn't see any dead versions of them wandering around. Still, in this chaos a missing truck isn't exactly assurance.

Merle chuckled then pointed at the bedroom, "But 'er knives ain't."

Daryl frowned and checked the bedroom and then the wooden board hung up to the wall. Running his hand over the dents and cuts he nodded and almost smiled. Lucille was too attached to them to leave them behind...

When the brothers caught up with their uncle, Jesse wasn't very excited that Merle had come to join them this soon already. Rolling his eyes as he tossed a small bag with medicine and a first aid kit in the back of the pick-up.

Merle immediately took offense to that as he placed himself in the driver's seat, "Hey, ya dun' have to come along if ya dun' like it."

Without another word they followed Merle's lead and got in the truck, leaving Sedalia and trying to find a place to stay before nightfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the Dixons got portrayed okay? >.>
> 
> \--Teaser for Next Chapter--
> 
> They all wanted a piece of him. There was no stopping them, for every Eater he got with his arrows 10 more would reappear, picking up where others left off. Slowly they surrounded Daryl while Merle called for him from within the darkness...


	6. No Vacancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish chapter 10, I'll start on chapter 11 soon.  
> So for now, here's chapter 5 featuring the Dixon brothers.  
> Hope you guys enjoy it. :)
> 
> P.S: Thanks GrimRWolf for the Kudos!

"How 'bout that motel?" Daryl asked.

Merle sighed, staring at the flickering neon sign then nodded. They didn't really have any choice, they needed to rest and eat. They've been on the road for a couple of days now, going in and out of stores and houses to spend the night and scavenge.

All the while their uncle was doing worse the further the infection ravaged his body. And then all of the sudden the disease claimed another soul for the undead. Needless to say, the journey had been rough even for them.

After Merle parked the car they grabbed as much of their stuff as they could, at least the crucial ones like weapons and food.

It was eerily calm as they approached the 2-story building though they saw a couple of Eaters wandering around. Barely even noticing the brothers as they crouched about trying to locate the office.

When they did Daryl stood watch by the window with crossbow in hand while Merle was sifting through drawers and desk trying to find the room keys for the motel.

Daryl was starting to get nervous at how long Merle was taking, "D'ya find 'em?" he asked, looking back and forth between the roaming Eaters and Merle.

Merle was getting colorful with his language as he muttered to himself. He was making a mess of the desk, tossing paperwork aside and making more noise than needed.

Daryl noticed he was struggling, probably from lack of sleep, and walked towards the desk to see if maybe he could find them instead. "Ya makin' too much noise, Merle," he said gruffly as he gently pushed his brother to the side.

Which Merle's pride didn't seem to appreciate so he pushed Daryl back and looked at him hard before flashing a small key in front of him, "I got 'em," he said with a rough voice.

He read the number on the key, '16'. "It's above," he said to Daryl and then headed out, swinging the door wide open while dragging his stuff around, bumping against things every now and then.

Daryl frowned and pressed his lips together at the reckless behavior, "Dun' just barge out like that, ya big ape!" he yelled behind him.

When he walked out the door he got startled at a groaning coming from next to him. He looked over and saw one of the Eaters noticing their presence, he quickly shut the creature up by launching an arrow in between its eyes. After retrieving the arrow he wiped the blood on his pants before going up the stairs to look for Merle.

Once inside they tossed their stuff on the queen-sized bed and got to work running their own little checklist. Making sure there were no stragglers hiding within the room or behind shower curtains, a new rule they added after their last surprise at one of the houses they were hiding in.

When the coast was clear they moved to secure the place, making sure every window and door is locked and curtains were drawn closed. Hidden from any prying eyes, dead or alive.

Daryl turned on a flashlight and propped it onto one of the nightstands, its soft pale light barely illuminating the room while Merle searched their bags for food.

He got out 2 cans and the opener that they managed to salvage. Beans for himself and then tossed a can of tuna at Daryl.

Daryl caught the can and set it aside before he moved a chair near the big window. Making a little nest for them for when they'd be on watch.

He peeked through the window, relieved that none of the Eaters had noticed them despite the noise Merle caused.

He accepted the can opener that Merle handed him and placed his crossbow down next to the chair before sitting in it. They sat in silence, eating and lost in their own thoughts.

Daryl stared at Merle, slowly chewing on his tuna as the older man made himself comfortable on the bed. Daryl was taking the first shift, figuring that Merle needed more sleep than he did. "The Smoky Mountains..." he said, reminding his brother of their previous argument.

Merle froze and sighed, _since when does he care..._ "What 'bout it? Hm? Ya think they're up there 'cause we saw the fliers?" he said as he turned around on the bed, watching Daryl as he set aside the can.

Daryl frowned, "Hell yea is what I'm sayin'. Ya know Lucille would've taken Roxy there to protect 'er. She lives for that girl..." he said, briefly glancing out the window as he picked up his crossbow.

"-If- they're alive...," Merle replied, "She's a tough bitch but I doubt she can handle 'em things out there on 'er own."

Daryl bit his nails again as he watched outside, "We could at least check. Make sure," he offered before looking back at Merle.

The older man grumbled, "It's in the other direction of where we're headin'!" Merle was torn...He truly believed that the chances to find the girls were slim, even he and Daryl were barely making it on their own. Between the lack of food and lack of sleep, it'd only be a matter of time before they slip up. Then having to worry about the sisters at the same time...?

Daryl spoke up again, deciding to go for a different route, "Ya could find out if she was the one that ratted ya out or not. Maybe she knows more than she realizes..." The archer eyed his older brother.

Merle licked his lips and looked at him then slowly nodded, "It would solve the mystery..." he said. Merle then waved a hand at him before rolling over to catch some sleep.

But before he relaxed he shot over his shoulder, "If they ain't there then it's straight to Jake's! And we forget about 'em!"

 

* * *

 

He dreamed he was being chased by them -the Eaters. 

He was running around on the parking lot of the motel with one weak street light illuminating him. He couldn’t see anything beyond the mass that circled him. They all wanted a piece of him.

There was no stopping them, and for every Eater he got with his arrows 10 more would reappear picking up where the others left off. Slowly surrounding him while Merle called for him from within the darkness.

The undead were so loud with their growling and snarling that he could barely hear Merle, ”Daryl! Daryl! Wake up, man!”

Daryl was roughly awoken by someone who was shaking him back and forth, yelling at him to wake up. Confused he glanced around as Merle was quickly gathering their bags.

When Daryl turned to the window he was met with a couple of Eaters clawing at the glass, pressing their faces against it and fixated on Daryl.

Daryl jumped out of the chair with his crossbow. _Fuck_ , he thought. He must’ve fallen asleep during his watch. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he repeated to himself as he ran a hand through his messy hair. 

Merle tossed a bag at Daryl with a glare. They both prepared to flee, checking their weapons and ammo all the while Daryl had to hear his brother’s insults.

Merle was the first to step out of the room with Daryl quickly following him. Merle quickly shot the two that were clawing their window. 

Daryl yelled ‘no’ before they paused when they saw that they practically alerted every Eater at the motel, and were slowly making their way towards the brothers.

Without hesitation they cleared a path, but it was a close call.

They ran towards the stairs. Merle shot a couple that were trying to get up the stairs while Daryl covered his back with his crossbow, shooting those that were emerging from the other rooms.

He was annoyed that he had to leave behind the arrows. _Damn waste_!

But Daryl didn’t notice the straggler that snatched him from behind, grasping his backpack as the creature tried to bring its jaw closer to Daryl’s neck. He couldn’t turn around to kill it without him risking getting bit, “Merle!!” he shouted. If only he could get the backpack off.

Merle turned around as soon as he heard his baby brother’s cry for help. He took out a small knife from his belt and hooked it behind one of the straps of Daryl’s backpack.

But as he did this, Daryl’s eyes grew big with panic before he aimed his crossbow at the Eater sneaking up behind Merle. “Behind ya!!”

The arrow zooms next to Merle’s head as it pierced the Eater.

With the straps now cut and the backpack falling down, Daryl quickly got away from the Eater before Merle finally put a bullet through its head.

Merle looked at him with a small smirk as they moved down the stairs, “Ain’t ya glad ol’ Merle’s gotcha back?” But his smirk disappeared quickly when they reached the car. 

He wasn’t pleased with Daryl’s slip up. His own brother sleeping through his watch like some puss.

Daryl felt like crap as he ran a hand through his unkept hair, he must’ve been more tired than he realized. He could’ve sworn it was only a moment that he closed his eyes…

 

* * *

 

 

Despite Merle’s anger and disappointment in his baby brother, he kept his word. It took them another day but they made it to the campgrounds and what they saw wasn’t what they expected…

It was completely overrun by Eaters. Dozens upon dozens feasting on torn bodies that littered the campgrounds. Cars were all over the place seemingly having driven through the tents to try and escape the hell they must’ve been in. Blood splatters covered the hoods, some even had remnants of mutilated bodies stuck underneath the wheels and bumpers, unable to tell the difference if it was once an Eater or an unfortunate soul that got in the way. Tents were demolished, even the big white ones…

As they drove by slowly, they briefly pondered about trying to salvage whatever was left in those crates. 

“What d’ya think? Should we get it?” Daryl asked as he scanned the chaos, watching how some Eaters were distracted by eating the fallen.

Merle thought long and hard by this as he drove around in circles, causing more attention to themselves really. He then shook his blonde, half-shaven head, having made his decision, “No. Leave it, there’s too many of ‘em. They’ll eat us up before we’re able to crack ‘em open.”

The Eaters were already trying to surround the truck. There was no way for them to reach the goods even without clogging the engine with dead flesh.

Daryl nodded as he briefly closed his eyes, realizing that if the girls were here, they probably didn’t make it.

Merle had already made his peace with it and turned the truck around, straight for Jake’s.

Daryl was breathing hard as his anger began to get the better of him. Fuming and slamming his fist against the dashboard in frustration.

Merle ignored his brother’s outburst, focusing on the road as he grieved in his own way. By not being a fucking pussy like Daryl was, he who was the ‘sensitive’ one out of the two of them. _Lucille. Told ‘im she wouldn’t make it. She’s tough but not Dixon tough._

The rest of the ride was quiet.

Merle always did like the road, especially on his bike. Just him and the pavement, alone. He could forget about his problems. The road doesn’t bitch to him, it doesn’t expect him to do great things. He chuckled to himself at the thought, _it’s like therapy…_

Daryl glanced at him and arched a brow, “Whatcha laughing at?” he asked as he reached for his pocket and took out his smokes. Placing a cigarette between his dry lips before lighting it up with a lighter.

Merle reached his hand out, wanting a smoke for himself.

After the older brother blew out a cloud of smoke from his first drag he answered, “Was just thinkin’ ‘bout the bike. I’m pretty sure it’s still there,” he said.

Daryl slowly nodded, not saying much.

Merle glanced at him a couple of times before saying, “Hey, Little D,” he waited to get Daryl’s attention, “If ya ever fall asleep again, on yer watch?”

He didn’t get the chance to finish what he had to say. 

Daryl quickly adjusted himself in his seat and frowned as he waved his hand about, “Yea-yea-yea, I know, I know. It won’t happen again.” He was feeling self conscious about his mistakes and how close it got to killing them. 

The corners of Merle’s lips slowly formed a grin before he chuckled.

 

* * *

 

 

It took them another day and a half to reach the headquarters of the Savage Sons motorcycle club. It was a questionable place to say the least. Merle was proud of it but to Daryl it was just another seedy bar.

Daryl parked the truck near the entrance, leaning back in his seat before glancing at Merle. He arched a brow at him, “I thought ya said this place was safe?” he asked him as Merle was busy reloading his Glock.

“Yea well, ya can’t be too safe. Jus’ in case…” Merle replied.

They got out of the truck, the sun beating down heavy on them. _Gotta love that Georgia weather_ , Merle thought.

He motioned for Daryl to follow him as he approached the front of the bar where some bikes were parked. He smiled when he spotted his own bike, still safe and untouched in its spot.

Daryl was looking around the parking lot, keeping an eye out for Eaters.

It was strange to hear Jake’s this quiet. Usually the bar would be blasting rock music or heavy metal, rowdy bikers up front showing off their hogs. While the members inside were either getting drunk, arguing about drugs or money, or trying to score with some cheap slut. Most of the time these women are either after their fix or had bad taste in men.

Surprisingly Lucille managed to blend in with the crowd, it always bothered him that Merle got her involved in his business. 

He briefly caressed the necklace through his pocket before Merle signaled him to head inside. 

“Come on, Little D. We got lots of goodies inside,” Merle said, feeling more confident now that things were finally going their way. 

When they entered the bar, Merle froze. The sun must be baking his brain, he thought.

Although Daryl had a small smile when he saw the two women on the other side of the room.

Lucille was sitting in a chair holding her Magnum and her katana in her lap, while Roxy was sitting on a bar stool with a baby in her arms. They both looked in rough shape; dirty and tired looking. Lucille in particular was a mess.

The brothers stared at the woman, it seems they had it worse than they did. Bloodstains covered her clothes and skin, a soaked spot on her left thigh. The tear in her pants showing the dirty bandaging underneath. 

Her signature glasses perched atop her blonde, sweaty head with a fierce and impatient look as she barked at them, “What the fuck took ya’ll so long?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know. I created Lucille before I knew of Michonne's existence. But Michonne will still be the Katana wielding badass, not Lucille. Her story with the sword is different.
> 
> \--Teaser for Next Chapter--
> 
> ...and that’s when things really got bad.
> 
> Not only did they have to watch for people shoving them aside or the undead clawing at them from all sides. Now, they also had to dodge vehicles that were trying to run them over.
> 
> Roxanne shrieked as she witnessed how a car ran over a man that was running ahead of them.
> 
> The little group paused in their tracks from shock for what seemed to be only a moment, but a moment was all it took…
> 
> James suddenly cried out in pain...


	7. Always Trust Your Gut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story isn't abandoned but life sure likes to keep me busy. x-x
> 
> I'll crank out a few chapters to make up for it. But thank you guys for the Kudos and the Bookmarks : 3

_3 days ago..._

They were relaxing around the cold firepit, waiting for the authorities to open the supply crates so they could get their share.

James in particular hoped to have some baby stuff for Cora. But right now Roxy, James and Dwayne were observing Lucille as she dug deep in her duffel bag.

Pulling two sets of throwing knives, carefully displaying them on the dirt ground.

James' brows shot up in surprise when Lucille dove back in the bag and pulled out a freaking sword.

Dwayne on the other hand was admiring their new friend, thinking how badass it was...Almost like a superhero.

Roxanne found it amusing the way Lucille handled her collection, always with such care. She remembered how Lucille could spend hours on them; cleaning, sharpening, practicing on empty cans or water bottles.

She wasn't the kind of woman to spend money on things like clothes or make-up, hell even her jewelry was cheap and coated in clear nail polish to prevent her skin from turning green. But her blades...those were her passion.

Roxy rolled her eyes and shook her head when she saw that she even brought her sword. "I can't believe you actually brought the sword," she told the blonde with a chuckle.

Lucille had a broad smile on her lips as she lifted her sunglasses and perched them atop her head, "Of course I did," she said with pride as she picked up the katana sword, "I sure as hell wasn't gonna leave this beauty behind."

She inspected the beige wooden scabbard to make sure she didn't break anything during the car crash, she did the same with the throwing knives.

Lucille glanced at the others and noticed how Dwayne was staring at the collection with boyish wonder, it made her smirk, "Now I'm usually a 'throwin' knife' fanatic," she said as she stared at the 12 black kunai styled knives with the silvery edges, they were about the size of her hand and neatly concealed in a leg strap.

She got up and attached it to her left thigh seeing as she kept her survival knife on the right. "They're usually smaller than that but I prefer the bigger ones. More weight means better penetration," she said as she peeked at Dwayne who was listening and watching intently.

She adjusted the other leg strap, lifting her knees a couple of times to make sure the straps weren't too tight.

Then she picked up the pale, wooden scabbard, "When I saw this beauty though...I couldn't resist." She grabbed the light brown handle and slowly unsheathed the blade. Reminiscing about how she got the sword. "A 28 inch carbon steel blade that's been clay tempered with authentic Hamon Line. Beautiful," she explained to Dwayne as she admired the bamboo design on the iron tsuba.

Dwayne frowned as he pondered about the clay, "What does clay tempered mean?" he asked the blonde.

Lucille arched both her brows and sighed deeply, "I have no clue. Ask the Asians when all this shit is over."

James chastised her, "Language, please."

Lucille rolled her eyes at the parent.

Dwayne stood up and approached her, "Can I hold it?" the boy asked.

Lucille smiled at him, glad to have found someone as equally nerdy about this stuff as she is, "Sure."

But James would have none of it, "Uh, no. My son is not going to wield a weapon," he said with a warning glare at the both of them.

Dwayne was whining about it, trying to convince his father that he will be careful.

Even Lucille supported the kid, "He's just gonna hold it, not gonna stab anyone with it."

James gave her a hard look, "No."

They continued to argue, Lucille really didn't see the harm in it.

So Roxanne pitched in then, "Ghost, never argue with the parent. Babysittin' 101," she warned her sister.

Lucille sucked on her teeth and then nodded at them. She frowned as she sheathed the katana again and set it up against the tent.

James comforted a teary-eyed Cora, gently patting her back. He looked at Lucille as she was rummaging through her bag again, "Do you even know martial arts?" he asked out of curiosity only.

Dwayne perked up with interest at that, _does she?_

Lucille looked up at him, a sheepish smile on her lips.

That's when Roxanne burst into laughter, "Haha! If you count havin' imaginary fights in your underwear as a martial art! Bedroom-fu!"

James couldn't help but smirk as Lucille clicked her tongue at Roxy before blushing and turning back to her bag.

She hated to admit it but yes, there were often evenings where she would fight evil samurai overlords...

She then turned to Roxanne, "Hey, d'ya know if I brought that leather strap-holder-thing with me or not? The convertible one?"

Roxy was still giggling while thinking and then pointing at the bag, "Side pocket," she said as she helped James with the baby, carrying her for a moment.

Lucille turned to her bag and checked the sides, _yup...there it is. Blonde moment_ , she thought to herself.

Just as she was about to take it out, she heard someone yell and clap their hands to draw attention.

It was the same deputy that had welcomed them before. He was announcing the start of rations being handed out.

"Ya'll know the drill! Only 1 member per family goes to retrieve the supplies, the rest of you stay put. Form a single line and wait your turn. Do -not- lie about the amount of members you have in your family. Everything will be distributed equally."

James and Lucille both looked at each other, it was clear they were the 'heads' of their families.

Roxy was happy to stay behind with the kids.

Lucille put her glasses back on as she headed towards the military tents, waiting in line along with other people.

James sighed as he glanced around, "I hope they got something for Cora. I hate to use your shirts all the time," he said.

Lucille chuckled at the comment, "I don't think so. Military doesn't really take into account that there might be kids who need diapers or baby food. Food is food and people can use cloths or napkins as substitute."

James frowned, "And you know this how?" he asked.

Lucille shrugged her shoulders, "TV? I dunno. Ya never see 'em carryin' diapers around."

Lucille was curious about the medical tents, wondering how people here treated the infected. It didn't seem like there were any incidents here judging by how relaxed the people in charge seemed to be.

She snapped out of her thoughts when James tapped her sore shoulder, drawing attention because it was their turn.

James remembered something she said as the firefighter gathered some cans of food for him, "Hey, sir?" he started, "Where -are- the military if I may ask? I know we have their support but why aren't they here?"

Lucille arched a brow at the firefighter before giving James a nod of approval as she accepted an extra blanket from the person helping her out. She actually wondered that too...

The firefighters wiped his sweaty brow as he set the cans of food aside while retrieving some pillows, "All I know is that they are spread out to the bigger camps. Like the one in Atlanta, I think it's cause of the CDC. Rumors say they're working on a cure there," he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

To be frank, the volunteers here didn't know much about the situation. Only that they were promised help and barely got any. More people were trickling in every day, supplies were already scarce enough as it is. He even noticed how some families actually decided to move away, try their luck in Atlanta where they felt more secure.

When the pair returned with the goods, they got to work at stoking the firepit again.

Lucille sacrificed pretty much every T-shirt and blouse she owned to the baby. They couldn't really waste the limited water supply they received to clean her shirts and honestly, she didn't need them that much anymore after knowing someone pooped in them.

 

* * *

 

Night has fallen and even Lucille had finally managed to find some sleep.

It didn't come easy however, her gut was screaming at her not to get too comfortable. She wasn't allowed to keep her guard down but after spending a couple of sleepless nights, keeping watch with the others back at the bar and the truck stop.

Exhaustion was getting the better of her. There were steady patrols here so maybe it was okay to give in to sleep?

The camp was still, just the occasional volunteer patrolling the small paths in between tents and edges of the woods with a flashlight. Campfires burned into small embers now with a few remaining people murmuring quietly to one another.

The girls were tucked under the blankets, spooning each other with Roxy being the little spoon. Her brunette head laying on Lucille's arm while the other arm was draped around Roxy's waist.

The footsteps that were usually moseying by suddenly grew more urgent. Multiple footsteps even as the hushed voices grew louder and louder until they eventually turned into screams.

Lucille roused from her sleep, cracking a green eye open as she tried to listen to what was happening outside.

Roxy started to wake up as well and turned her head slightly, "What's goin' on?" she asked with a raspy voice.

Lucille frowned and shushed her, still trying to figure out what was happening.

They both began to realize that the noises were sounds of panic.

They straightened themselves but it wasn't until they heard James yell for them, and Cora cry that Lucille jumped into action.

Quickly she grabbed her Magnum and stepped outside the tent while Roxy slowly crawled out herself. Lucille turned to James, "What's happenin'?!" she asked him as she checked the straps around her legs.

James was anxious, his face creased in worry as he adjusted the baby in his arms who was crying loudly. And poor Dwayne was clinging to his father's side with tears running down his face.

"They say there's been a breach, dozens of Freaks. We have to get out of here!!" the black man panicked.

They all turned to the sound of gunshots in the distance, and horrible screams.

"Yea. We're leavin'!" Lucille said without pausing as she dove back in the tent to grab her katana and slung the leather strap across her torso. "To the car, now! Now!" she urgently said as she grabbed Roxy's hand and they all left, leaving their stuff behind while zigzagging through the maze of tents.

James kept Cora close to him while holding on to Dwayne's hand as they tried to keep up with the girls.

Lucille was fully alert now and angry at herself for letting her guard down.

She knew it! She fucking knew it! She should've listened to her gut! Her gut never failed  her before and it certainly didn't now.

"Come on!!" she shouted till her voice got raw, urging them on to pick up the pace the thicker the crowd became.

People were all over the place, pushing each other over or trampling those that fell. Some bothered to pack their bags, foolishly clinging to their possessions while others were dropping like flies around them.

The Freaks were numerous, coming across the field like a wave of grey blobs while others emerged from the treeline. It was a herd! This was new to them, a feature they hadn't seen before in the undead.

Cars slowly began to take off...and that's when things really got bad.

Not only did they have to watch for people shoving them aside or the undead clawing at them from all sides. Now, they also had to dodge vehicles as they ran right through the crowd.

Roxanne shrieked as one of those cars got dangerously close to them, witnessing how it ran over a man that was running ahead of them.

The little group paused in their tracks from shock for what seemed to be only a moment, but a moment was all it took...

James suddenly cried out in pain when he felt the dead hands grasping him from behind, a mangled jaw biting down his arm as it tore the flesh right off.

James let go of Dwayne and was barely hanging on to Cora as the little girl screeched hysterically.

The sisters turned around and rushed towards the family.

James tried to shake the Freak off but then its hungry companion caught up to him to join the feast, and then another, and another soon following...It was too late.

Dwayne screamed for his father, fear keeping him frozen in one spot.

Roxanne didn't think twice as she quickly rushed for the baby, saving her just in time from the maws of death.

At the same time Lucille took her gun and quickly shot James as the Freaks tore through his abdomen, startling both his son and her sister.

Her face was blank as she lowered the weapon. He was granted mercy...

 _No time to cry, they can grieve later..._ She thought to herself before turning to the others.

She handed the gun to Roxy, "Five bullets, make 'em count!" she said before taking Dwayne's hand as they continued their escape, urging them to run once more.

She removed the sword, with strap and all from her torso to use it as a blunt weapon instead.

There were less Freaks chasing them now, probably because they were distracted with whatever 'fallen prey' they managed to get. But it didn't make the people less dangerous.

As they were getting closer to the treelines - where they had parked the car - an older man looking like a trucker ran besides them, glancing over his shoulder a couple of times before he looked at Lucille and the kid.

With a look of mad desperation he shoved Lucille hard, causing her to fall to the ground and dragging the boy along with it. Clearly meant to be used as bait to save the guy's cowardly ass.

Lucille scrambled up with katana in hand and reached for Dwayne's hand, trying to get him up.

But her eyes grew wide with horror when she saw a Freak crawling towards the boy, quickly snatching him by the legs and then roughly tugged at him before biting down. Teeth tearing through fabric and flesh.

"NO!" she screamed as the boy cried out in pain, calling for his father.

She tried to pull him back by grabbing his arms, to get him out of the creature's clutches. But she wasn't strong enough, instead she swung the sheathed katana around, trying to knock the Freak off of Dwayne.

"Get off him!" she yelled as she reached for the survival knife and plunged the blade in its head to the hilt. Watching the Freak fall motionless to the ground before she pulled it out again.

Lucille looked down at Dwayne's legs and grimaced at the sight. She could just walk away, he was already a lost cause...

 _But he's a kid!!_ Her mind screamed back at her.

Again she used the scabbard to knock another Freak over that was walking towards them, then another and another. There were too many of them, and instinctively she began to back away. Keeping Dwayne between her legs as she stood over him, "Dwayne!?" she called for him, wondering if he was still alive or not.

Roxanne looked over her shoulder and saw that her sister and the boy were no longer behind her. "Lucille?! Lucille?!" she cried out as she looked around the panicked crowd.

She couldn't seem them, _what happened?!_

She spotted a crashed car near a lone tree nearby and decided to climb on top of it to get a better view. Struggling with holding both the baby and a gun as she did. When she stood on top the hood of the car she scanned the crowd, and that's when she found them.

Dwayne on the ground with Freaks eating away at him while Lucille was swinging her katana around in vain.

"Lucille!!" she yelled for her as she waved with the gun.

Lucille looked down at her feet when Dwayne had fallen silent, and for a moment the world seemed to slow down as the image of him was burned into her skull.

His bloodied hand was gently draped over her boot, his brown eyes giving her a dead stare as his body occasionally jerked from the creatures' feeding frenzy.

From the outside she must've seem like a cold woman. Her expressionless face showing no remorse or pity nor sadness. The scabbard of the katana now caked in dark blood, she paused.

Lucille was trying not to get into shock, seeing the dead boy by her feet like this...But Roxanne's voice brought her back to reality and she looked up again, just in time to beat back a Freak that snuck up behind her.

She searched for Roxy's voice and found her standing on top of a vehicle, quickly Lucille made her way towards her.

Roxanne tried to hold back a whimper when she saw that Lucille was coming back to them...alone. She knew what that meant, sniffling as she briefly stared at the baby who was still shedding tears and hiding her little face in Roxy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Cora," she whispered to the little girl.

Then all of the sudden the car lurched to the side. Roxanne let out a shriek as she turned around to see what was happening.

A large Freak was trying to crawl up the car, his bloodied hands clawing at Roxanne's feet as he approached her with a snarl.

Roxy fumbled with the gun before she aimed it at the creature and then shot it in the head, screaming in horror.

But then another Freak tried the same method from the other side.

Roxanne couldn't take it, tears were streaming down her cheeks as Cora was crying hysterically along with her. She kept the baby close to her as she screamed for Lucille.

Lucille had already noticed what was happening and ran towards the Freak and then stabbed it in the back of the skull.

"Climb down!" she told Roxy as she retrieved her blade. "We have to find the damn car," she said as she guided her through the crowd.

But when they arrived at the place where James had parked the car; at the edge of the forested area that tended to slope down. But the car was gone.

"What?! No! God!! What do we do now?! Lucille?!" Roxy began to panic, crying and rambling on without pause.

Lucille grabbed her shoulder and tried to calm her down, she needed Roxy to stay focused, "It's okay! It's okay! We'll just run, we run! Now come on."

Another car drove by, closer than was necessary again but the girls managed to avoid him.

However...The distraction caused them to miss the female Freak that was slowly climbing up the steep hill.

When the Freak spotted its prey it snarled loudly while picking up the pace, and then suddenly grabbed Lucille by the shoulders.

The blonde startled and lost her footing as the weight of the Freak made her tumble backwards.

Roxy screamed and tried to grab Lucille's shirt to pull her back, but carrying the baby and having the gun in her hand caused the fabric to slip away from her fingers. "NO!!" Roxy whimpered again as she watched Lucille tumbling down the hill with the Freak.

The woods were so dark...she couldn't see her anymore.

Needless to say the fall caused some severe bruising, especially when she landed hard on her left side. Knocking the air out of her lungs before she tried to get her bearings straight.

Gasping for air as she clutched her side, "Fuck..." she wheezed before startling again as the Freak recovered and crawled on top of her.

Lucille took her bloodied knife and stabbed the creature repeatedly before remembering to stab it in the head. Again, it too fell motionless.

Lucille paused for a moment, sprawled on the forest ground and panting hard, wincing at the pain in her side with each breath she took.

She crawled back up, frowning when she noticed a wetness on her left thigh. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had injured herself, most likely her blade nicked her during the fall.

She glanced around, frowning as she realized she lost her katana. After sliding the hunting knife back in its strap she frantically bent back down and ran her hands down across the leafy ground, hoping that it fell nearby.

She heard a twig snap, pausing as she listened. She wasn't alone...

"Where is it?!?!" she whispered to herself as she continued her search.

She heard Roxy calling out to her from above the hill but didn't look up as she spoke, "I-I'm fine! I'm fine! I can't find the sword!" she informed her sister.

Roxanne rolled her eyes as she rocked her body back and forth to try and calm Cora down, "Forget the sword! Just run!" she yelled back before she looked around her for more Freaks.

One of them was approaching her so she slowly back away, hesitating while looking down the hill a couple of times, "Lucille! Hurry!" she urgently told the blonde. She should run but she didn't want to leave her behind...

Lucille grumbled back, "I KNOW!" she responded to 'hurrying up', she could hear the panic in Roxy's voice.

As her hands continued to brush the ground she could hear footsteps shambling behind her followed by snarling. She briefly looked over her shoulder and saw a Freak stumbling towards her, she quickly rolled over as the man fell to the ground as he was aiming for her.

She continued to search for the sword as she kept an eye out for the Freak, dodging him when needed.

It was stupid to stick around for a sword, she knew that. But the sentimental value it had was too great for her to leave it behind.

She finally found her katana, gripping it firmly she quickly got up and started running along the edge of the hill, ignoring the undead.

"Roxanne!" she yelled for her as she tried to find her silhouette against the pale moonlight.

Roxy heard her but was a little busy herself as another Freak was starting to target her. She aimed the gun and started shooting, missing the first shot before she tried again and shot him in the head.

Lucille counted, _2 bullets left, after that...we'll be in trouble._

She quickly turned and climbed up the hill around where she heard the gunshots. She had hoped that there would be a more accessible path to get back up there but alas...climbing it is.

Her ribs were protesting against the movement. With katana in hand she clutched her side as she climbed up and then looked around as she reached the top.

She spotted Roxy a couple of feet away, staring down into the dark woods as she called for Lucille again. The blonde approached her at a slow pace, trying to catch her breath, "Roxy!"

Roxanne startled and looked up to see Lucille. She smiled in relief but then her features twisted in horror when she noticed her appearance and her leg, "Oh God..."

Lucille just stared at her, an expression of worry and doubt on her face. She wanted to look down to see how bad it was but she decided against it. Not yet at least. _If you look down now you'll get into shock and the pain will be worse_ , she reminded herself.

So for now she relied on the adrenaline rushing through her body to numb the pain and keep her focused.

She held out her hand, motioning for Roxy to calm down and to ignore it, "I can walk, let's get outta here."

Lucille took the gun back and slid it behind her jeans again. Together they tried to get as far away from this place as they could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \---Teaser for Next Chapter---
> 
> The Half-Indian woman flashed the bag in front of the Dixons, instant recognition crossing Merle's face.
> 
> The Savage Sons' leader got angry real quick, approaching Roxy with a glare to take the bag away, "Hey! That's my stuff!" he boomed.
> 
> But Roxy quickly pulled away from him before joining Lucille by her side in a hurry.
> 
> The blonde cocked the hammer of her Magnum when Merle tried to catch up to her. The sound of the metal click making him pause.
> 
> "It's why we came here in the first place. Ghost needed painkillers, she remembered you had a stash somewhere..." Roxanne explained.
> 
> Merle scowled at the both of them, his gun slowly aiming for Lucille as she winced when she chuckled tiredly at him, the movement hurting her ribs. She mirrored his actions, lifting her own gun.


	8. Dixon Tough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Dixons have finally caught up with our girls! Huzzah! \o /  
> Thanks again for reading, let me know what you guys think? : 3

Roxy's jade eyes glanced back and forth between everyone, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Cora mirrored her concerns as she began to whimper, clearly not liking the hostility in the room.

Roxy murmured to the child, trying to soothe her by rubbing her back gently and drying her tears. She wondered if perhaps it was a bad idea after all to come here.

The Dixons never said a word as the sisters explained what happened at the refugee camp, and how they ended up here. It was nerve racking, Merle looked like he could either turn against them or have a fit of laughter, and Daryl...Roxy could never read Daryl and knew only two moods with the man. Angry or quiet.

The younger brother stared at Lucille's injuries, the girls had only mentioned what happened to the camp but they didn't say how they got hurt. The sight of a bleeding leg on a pale and feverish Lucille made him fear the worst. But before he could ask Merle had interrupted him, demanding answers of his own.

The older man looked behind him towards the corpses first before pointing at them with his thumb, "Ya wanna tell me what happened to my crew?" Merle asked Lucille with a scowl.

Lucille wasn't feeling very good, all she wanted to do right now was sleep.

She briefly stared at the brothers, taking in their appearance.

They were both dirty and sweaty, covered in dried blood, and dirt. And Daryl even had oil stains on his pants, it looked old so she figured he must've been tinkering when shit hit the fan. His hair was sticking to his face, she wasn't sure if it was because of the sweat or the greasiness of it. Merle looked more tired, and agitated.

 _Must be havin' withdrawals_ , she thought to herself.

she followed Merle's gaze and stared at the dead club members. Blinking slowly before she looked back up at him, "They were already like that when we came here. We just made sure they stayed dead..." she said, hinting they were all stabbed in the head.

Lucille wiped her brow but her fingers got caught on her hair, tugging painfully on the knots and knocking her glasses off. They fell in her lap before she picked them up and hooked them on her bra instead with a sigh. The fatigue was making her clumsy.

Merle wasn't happy that his entire club got decimated. Well, not all of them. Half of the people were missing. He guessed they must've pussed out after whatever happened here. But then again, less mouths to feed, less shit to deal with...All he cared about right now was his brother and himself.

Merle glanced at both girls and then the baby, the corners of his mouth pulling down. He was still debating on what to do with them. He knew one thing for sure...that baby, will be the death of them.

Roxy purposely turned away from the corpses, not in the mood for more fluids...The smell was bad enough as it is. She frowned at the memory, since Lucille could barely move the task fell onto her to 'secure the bodies'.

Sticking to babysitting duty wasn't so bad after all...

She then remembered something. She reached behind her and grabbed a Ziploc bag with a whole arsenal of drugs. She didn't even recognize half of the stuff but she was pretty sure that not everything was meant for 'medical use'.

Lucille had insisted that she gathered everything in one bag, for she had a plan in mind.

The Half-Indian woman flashed the bag in front of the Dixons, instant recognition crossing Merle's face.

The Savage Sons' leader got angry real quick, approaching Roxy with a glare to take the bag away, "Hey! That's my stuff!" he boomed.

But Roxy quickly pulled away from him before joining Lucille by her side in a hurry.

The blonde cocked the hammer of her Magnum when Merle tried to catch up to her. The sound of the metal click making him pause.

"It's why we came here in the first place. Ghost needed painkillers, she remembered you had a stash somewhere..." Roxy explained.

Merle scowled at the both of them, his gun slowly aiming for Lucille as she winced when she chuckled tiredly at him, the movement hurting her ribs. She mirrored his actions, lifting her own gun.

Daryl didn't like this, licking his lips and nervously grabbing his crossbow tight and lifting it a bit higher. He was hesitant but if push came to shove, he would back his brother in a heartbeat.

"How d'ya know 'bout it?" Merle asked her. The only people who knew about his stash was Daryl and he wouldn't be stupid enough to mess with it.

Lucille grinned, "I have my ways..." She always kept her eyes and ears open, paying attention to the little things...Or stumbling on them on accident.

Lucille got serious now, swallowing hard as she tried to concentrate. "Let's make a deal, Merle," she said, watching both brothers. "I'll give ya the lil' baggie back if we get to stay with ya'll."

This was difficult for her to say. Lucille always prided herself on being able to take care of herself and Roxy. But unfortunately, sometimes, you had to swallow your pride if you want to survive.

Lucille was the one taking the full brunt of things so far, it would only be a matter of time before she succumbs by it. Roxy was not fit for a world like this, and now they had a baby as well. If Lucille is gone, they would follow her soon.

She hated how desperate she was...

Merle began to chuckle, and then that chuckle turned into a fit of laughter.

Daryl had lowered his bow, he actually didn't think it was a bad idea. It was a reasonable request and they could use the help, especially at night. More rest means they weren't going to make as many mistakes.

His brow briefly furrowed as he thought back of the motel.

Merle licked his lips slowly, grinning at her, "So ya need yer ol' pal Merle to protect ya 'n Bollywood? Huh?"

He glanced at the child in Roxy's arms, " 'N a negro baby. Whose kid is it anyway?" he curiously asked. Last time he checked Lucille hated kids.

Roxanne jumped back in the conversation then, "Cora is all that's left of the family we traveled with. They were at the campgrounds...," she said sadly.

Merle hummed, running his tongue across his teeth before reaching for the bag with unexpected swiftness.

Roxy shrieked and even the baby startled herself at the sudden movement when the bag was taken away.

Merle may have gotten his hands on the bag but Lucille meant business. She aimed her gun at him, "I've got two bullets left, Merle! Might as well use 'em on ya. Maybe give one to ya brother just for the hell of it," she said with frustration.

Daryl wasn't sure if she was serious, she was kind of like Merle in that regard. You never know if they're your enemy or friend.

Merle chuckled, "Ya ain't gonna shoot me, sweetheart. Ya dun' have it in ya."

Lucille glared at him and struggled as she stood up straight, her ribs hurting with every breath she took and every muscle she used.

She wanted to show how serious she was with the proposition. But she miscalculated her fatigue, the room suddenly began to spin and the pain in her leg just got more intense from the weight she was putting on.

It only took a couple of seconds before she passed out...

Merle couldn't contain his laughter, lowering his gun. _Yes, sir. She's tough but not Dixon tough._ He put his gun away, eyeing Roxy for a bit then waving her off. She wasn't a threat to them.

When Daryl saw Lucille's eyes roll back into her skull he rushed to her side, catching her just in time with one arm as the other was still clutching his bow.

The gun and sword slipped from her hands, falling onto the sticky and dirty floorboard of the bar.

Daryl put the bow down and picked her up bridal style without saying a word before moving past the others, going straight to Merle's office.

As soon as Daryl caught her sister, Roxy let out a groan in frustration. Things weren't going as planned. She wanted to tell him to be careful with her but he already entered the office with Lucille.

She bent down to pick up the gun and katana when Merle gently touched Roxy's shoulder, wanting her attention. With a serious look he asked, "Is she bit?" he too noticed the fever just as Daryl did.

Roxy shook her head as she got up, baby still clinging to her. "No-no, it's her leg. I think it's infected," she said to him.

Merle didn't believe her, so he gripped her shoulder a little harder and brought her closer to him. His face inches from her.

"Ya better not be lyin' to me now, Bollywood. I dun' like bein' lied to. Is she bit or not?" he asked again with a rougher voice.

Roxy winced at the tight grip and again shook her head, "No! I told you, it's her leg. She fell on her knife. If she were bit, don't you think she would've turned by now?!"

Merle pondered about it, glancing back and forth between Roxy and the baby. He let go of her arm and picked up the crossbow before joining the pair in his office.

She spoke the truth, he figured. If she were indeed infected she would've turned by now.

Roxy quietly followed him as she brought over Lucille's weapons and placed them on the table.

 

* * *

 

Merle's office...It was a very manly, man cave. Or a nest where drunken raccoons may have partied in.

There were bottles upon bottles of alcohol, and empty packages and wrappers of snacks, and discarded clothes that weren't smelling too fresh anymore. Roxy expected to find a used condom at any moment now.

Daryl had carefully placed Lucille on the weathered couch, glancing over at Merle when he brought his crossbow and placed it next to the couch.

"She ain't bit," Merle told his baby brother.

Daryl nodded at him before glancing back at Lucille and Roxy, "It's the leg then?" he asked the small woman.

Roxy nodded, "She fell on her knife and slashed it. It's not that deep though but...It must've gotten infected."

Daryl got down to one knee and took out his own knife. He carefully cut through the bandages that were poking through the tear in her pants, tossing them aside since they were too dirty to be used.

Roxanne peeked over his shoulder and grimaced at the red and swollen skin, the wound was still bleeding. It had completely ruined her tattoo; it was a lacy, garter belt with a dagger all in black and grey colors. The slash ran right across the tattoo.

Roxanne pressed her lips tight together and sighed a little, _Ghost is not goin' to like this..._

She glanced up at Merle but he seemed unfazed by it, however...she could see the gears in his head turn. The silence was killing her, "Well? Can you do somethin'?" she asked the brothers.

They both glanced at each other, a silent conversation happening between them. Merle turned to Roxy then, "Go find somethin' strong to drink, anythin' 'round 40% oughta do it."

Roxanne blinked as she readjusted the baby in her arms. _A drink? My sister is bleeding out with a fever and they want a drink?_   Roxanne didn't think she could ever become so mad, so angry, so...She was fuming so much she couldn't speak!

Daryl looked up, wondering why she wasn't moving. He rolled his eyes when he figured out she misunderstood Merle, so he got up himself and went to the bar to search for the strong stuff.

 

* * *

 

While searching the bar Daryl pondered about the tattoo, wondering how many she's actually got? He knew of the ones on her hands and arms, they weren't hard to miss. From the right sleeve with the confused psychedelic designs of poor quality, down to the small letters on her right ring finger that she had done by one of the club members after one drink too many. And the sun and moon with the creepy faces on the back of her hand.

But he felt that the left sleeve with the Indian collection of lotus flowers, Hindu symbols and Sanskrit prayers were kind of out of place for her, she didn't seem like a spiritual woman to him. But he did like the floral mandala design with the grey colors on the back of her left hand.

He thought some more, remembering that she had another tattoo on her right shoulder blade; a skeletal Native-American chief in blue and purple tints....But he was pretty sure he saw every scar she had though. Unless Merle beat him to it...

 

* * *

 

Merle in the meanwhile told Roxy to help him take Lucille's pants off.

Roxy looked at him confused, "What?!"

Merle was getting impatient, "Just put the kid down 'n help me take off 'er pants! We need to clean 'er up..." he barked at her.

So after Roxy put Cora down near the couch she helped Merle removing the knife straps and clothing piece. She folded the pants, furrowing at the blood stains before putting them aside. Her mind was as clouded as Lucille's by the way she was assuming things -way- too soon.

After a while Daryl came back with two bottles of whiskey and the bags from their truck.

While he had searched for the booze he figured he might as well bring their stuff inside since it was starting to get dark.

Lucille slowly came to again, her blue and green eyes blinking a couple of times as she tried to focus on the faces surrounding her. She began to realize that she was pantless and that there were male figures around her.

She was on the verge of panic until recognition came, the Dixons. They were a lot of things but they weren't rapists.

With a frown she asked, "What happened?"

Roxy's face then popped up, "You got up too fast and fainted," she said with a small smile, gently pushing Lucille's long bangs out of her eyes.

This wasn't comforting, it was embarrassing. She fucking fainted and now she's laying down on Merle's shitty couch, trying not to imagine the kinds of women that he brought here for a quick lay. In her underwear...

Daryl brought some clean towels and tissues and one of the Whiskey bottles.

Lucille observed him as he placed a towel underneath her leg and then soaked another one with some Whiskey before he began to clean the surrounding skin of the wound.

Lucille cringed, knowing that the Whiskey will soon be used as a disinfectant.

She leaned down, her hands over her head as she clutched the arm of the couch. She tried to focus on Merle's stupid face as he grinned at her.

Daryl slowly poured the Whiskey over the wound, making Lucille hiss in pain. She tried to stay quiet, not wanting to give Merle the satisfaction of watching her whimper.

The old man was amused by it, taking occasional sips from his own bottle while sifting through the Ziploc bag.

He noticed how her leg was still bleeding no matter what Daryl tried.

According to Roxanne, pressure only helped them in the beginning but the wound kept reopening itself from whatever movement she was doing, and the infection delaying the healing process.

Merle Dixon had an idea brewing in his foggy head to fix that problem. The alcohol slowly starting to take effect.

After he found the pills he was looking for, he took a couple for himself. He took a swig from the bottle, swallowed the pills then reached back in the bag. He took out two more of the same pills and waved them in front of Lucille with a teasing smirk.

Roxanne was confused, she couldn't read any of them. She hated it when people would keep her in the dark. "What're those pills?" she asked Merle as she watched Lucille open her mouth after some hesitation.

Merle chuckled, briefly glancing at Roxanne as he gently placed them on Lucille's tongue and then handed her the bottle to swallow them down. "Just a lil' somethin' to help 'er for later," he simply stated, giving Daryl a knowing look.

Who by the way wasn't happy with Merle's choice of 'painkiller' for her.

Merle then got up and walked over to the table to pick up the Magnum. He took out the last two bullets in the chamber. When he turned around, Daryl was already reaching out to him with his knife.

Roxanne could feel her heart race. She was trying to figure out what they were planning to do. She began to go over a list in her head; _how does one stop the bleeding? Pressure. Medicine to help clot the blood more. Surgery._ None of those things that they had access to or have worked so far.

She approached Merle when he began to fiddle with the bullets, cracking one open. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks, it made her sick as she turned back to Lucille who was already mentally preparing for it.

_Cauterization. They're goin' to sear it shut..._

Daryl was treating the wound a little rougher now, pouring more Whiskey over it then dabbing it with a towel. It had to be as dry and clean as possible.

Lucille stares at Daryl as he cleaned her up before grabbing the bottle from him and taking a couple of large gulps.

Daryl jumped slightly at her sudden movement, watching how she was trying to 'drown' the pain with clenched jaws. When she was done he took the bottle back and set it aside.

They all switched positions then; Lucille sat in front of Daryl in between his legs. While Merle sat in front of her on the ground, her injured leg draped over his knees. He handed her one of the used towels to bite on, they couldn't risk her attracting the Psychos.

Lucille was breathing hard as she bit down on the towel, Daryl holding her tight behind her and Merle moved to pour the powder in the wound.

But Roxanne panicked and stopped them, "Wait! Wait! Wait!...Wait!"

They all looked at her, waiting for what she had to say.

"We can't do this, cauterizin' can lead to even more infections. You're essentially creatin' a wound on top of another wound. It should only be used in extreme situations!" she practically shouted at them.

Daryl for once spoke, his voice rough with a hint of irritation, "Yea well, d'ya know where we can find a doctor then? Or maybe some needle 'n thread? In case ya haven't noticed, we're -in- an extreme situation," he said, hinting at the dead walking amongst them.

Lucille dropped the towel, speaking softly and slowly since the drugs were starting to take effect, "Roxy, take Cora and go out by the bar. Keep her quiet," she said as she gave her a reassuring nod.

Merle took her towel and dabbed away at the blood again before stuffing it back in her mouth. He poured the black powder into the wound, making sure it was spread evenly.

Roxanne frowned and bit her lip, Daryl made a point there. The bleeding must be stopped one way or another, if that includes taking risks then so be it.

She picked up Cora, pausing in front of Lucille as she bit down on the towel again. With a quick nod she turned around and went to the bar area.

Merle took out his lighter but before he aimed to light up the powder he looked up at Lucille. Merle smirked, "Did ya know I was arrested before we hit the road? Huh? Somebody spilled the bans 'bout our business...Who was it?"

She pondered then shook her head.

Then without warning he lit the powder, watching how the wound sparked into a burst of flames before it fizzled out just as quickly.

Lucille screamed into the towel, her eyes tightly shut and jaws clenched. She jerked her leg in pain but the Dixons held her down, wanting the gunpowder to do its job.

Lucille dropped the towel from her mouth, panting heavily and on the verge of passing out.

Merle checked the wound, it was bleeding less but it hadn't stopped. _Not good. Second bullet then_ , he thought to himself as he pushed her leg aside to fetch the other bullet. Prying it open again to repeat the process.

Lucille whimpered, she didn't want to go through this again. And she was annoyed that they used her bullets instead of theirs.

She turned her head, glancing at Daryl for a moment. She knew how he felt about his space, she liked her space too and this was too close for comfort for either of them.

"Sorry..." she muttered at him.

"Stop talkin'," he replied as he watched Merle approach them again.

Merle sat back down with the bullet and repeated the question while gently lifting her chin, "Ya sure ya dun' have anythin' to do with it, Lucille?" he stared at her, trying to soften his features.

For a moment he thought she was going to say something, only to see her shake her head again.

So again he dabbed any moisture away with the towel Lucille dropped before he poured the powder again. He made sure he didn't miss a spot. When he was content with the spread he took the lighter again, briefly glancing up at her with a small smirk and then flicking it on. Letting her watch the flame approach the powder.

 _Still not talkin'_ , he observed as he pressed his lips together.

He locked eyes with Daryl, Merle could tell the man still believed in her innocence.

The powder sparked brightly again, searing the flesh as it fizzled out while Lucille was in torment.

She couldn't take the pain anymore and passed out.

 

* * *

 

Her dual-colored eyes fluttered open. Her mind still in a haze of fever, alcohol and...well, whatever it was that Merle gave her it was strong. The pain in her leg was still present but she couldn't decided if the pain was worse than before or not.

Her hand slowly reached down, surprised that she could feel denim again. They must've redressed her when they were done.

She could feel the bandages through the fabric, with a frown she looked down to see what they used. She arched her brows in surprise again, it was actual clean bandages. _Did the Dixons have any first aid kits on 'em?_ She couldn't remember.

She glanced around, only now spotting that Roxy and the baby were sleeping next to her on the floor. She saw that night had fallen, with Merle keeping watch.

He was smoking by the window while holding the katana, reminiscing about the time Lucille acquired the sword.

He glanced at Lucille, noticing she was staring at him. He gave her a tired smile, "Did Roxy ever find out how ya got the sword?" he asked, looking at her.

She was high as a kite from that feverish cocktail but she managed to shake her head, "There was no need..." she slurred.

He slowly nodded, he understood. There were things he didn't really want to share with his sibling. It was strange to see how this woman somewhat reminded him of himself. She was just as selfish as he was and could be just as ruthless, but her love for Roxy was as strong as his was for his baby brother.

It's them against the world...

Lucille's voice croaked, "Logan," she said waiting for his reaction.

Merle squinted his eyes and set the katana aside. He pushed himself off the chair and made his ways towards her, sitting on the arm of the couch by her feet. "What 'bout 'im?" he asked while handing her the smouldering cigarette.

She accepted the bud and eagerly placed it between her lips. Her cheeks sinking in as she took a deep drag from it. "He wanted to take over the club...so he talked to the cops, made a deal with 'em," she said with a cough as she blew the smoke out.

Smoking and bruised ribs are not a smart combo, she discovered. She gave the cigarette back with a wince.

Merle took a couple of puffs as he slowly nodded, "Why didn't ya stop 'im?"

Lucille chuckled, "It don't matter who pays me, as long as I get paid."

Merle chuckled back, his baby brother is going to be so disappointed in her.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these little Merle moments, it sort of shows a softer side to him that I think we never got a chance to explore in the Tv-Show.
> 
> \---Teaser for the Next Chapter---
> 
> "The hell?!" Daryl said as he dropped the heavy bags with a loud thud and reached for his crossbow.
> 
> "Lucille?!" Roxy was shocked to see a stranger hovering over her sister's unconscious body, getting an unpleasant deja vu. Oh god, where's Cora?!
> 
> Glenn whipped his head around when he heard the voices, he fully understood how this must've looked.
> 
> Glenn let go of Lucille's jacket and put his hands up, "No-no-no-no!! It's not what it looks like!!!"
> 
> "Not what it looks like, my ass!" the younger redneck said as he stomped his way over to Glenn and grabbed him by the scruff before slamming him into the wall.


	9. And So It Begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, 3 chapters in 3 days! I hope this will hold you guys up for a little while while I whip my muse back into shape!  
> I'm also developing a Skyrim Fanfic but that one will last a while before I can post it.
> 
> Thanks again guys for reading and bookmarking, and the kudos! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far!

The past two days had been rough on the group. Everyone had been arguing with each other on what to do next and where to go. Merle specifically was a pain to deal with. But nevertheless they agreed that teaming up would be best, after all they were already familiar with each other. They knew when to get out of each other's hair so...

After having settled their differences they decided that it was best to find some place where they government might still be operational - Atlanta. Lucille remembered the conversation she had with James and the volunteers back at the campgrounds.

But when they arrived at the city, all hope pretty much flew out the window.

Just like the campgrounds it was overrun, only on a much larger scale. They couldn't even drive in the city. Besides the Freaks there was debris everywhere, abandoned cars, and so many decaying corpses that the air itself was smelling ripe.

What was even more worrisome was that there were signs that the military had indeed been operational here, not just by seeing the tanks. They practically bombarded the city judging by the scorched holes in some of the buildings.

The gang quickly accepted that it's them against the world now. Roxanne had it rough though, for a while she couldn't stop crying...

Then all eyes fell on Lucille who was suffering from a fever, falling in and out of consciousness thanks to whatever Merle was 'willing' to give her.

 

* * *

 

"Mama!"

"No..."

"Mama!!"

"Stop...I ain't ya mama," Lucille sighed, sitting in the armchair. Wiping the sweat from her brow, "AT most I'm that stoner cousin that visits once in a blue moon..." she muttered to the child.

They were staying in the living room of one of those fancy suburban houses. But now she was alone, bored, and ailing.

Cora was cooing at her while sitting on her lap, wearing the same dirty red dress. Roxy had managed to clean her up a bit with some water that the Dixons had given them but that dress had to go.

Lucille chuckled at the memory, it was kind of cute seeing her enjoy a sponge bath. But then she frowned at the dried bloodstains on the dress sadly being reminded of Dwayne.

However right now that little girl wouldn't sit still, she was either tugging on Lucille's earrings or trying to chew on the rings around her fingers, or tracing her little wet finger over the tattoos and yapping nonstop.

 

* * *

 

The group had decided to bunk out along the outskirts of the city - the suburbs. It wasn't as crowded but still tricky in some places. However they needed to catch their breath and resupply. They were out of food and water, even clean clothes was something they could really use. Not to mention more ammo.

So for now Lucille was waiting in the living room of the house they cleared out and claimed as their temporary base with Cora on her lap, worrying.

When the Dixons set out to scavenge the surrounding houses, Roxanne had insisted on joining them. She wanted to help and feel more useful, other than just babysitting. And to make up for her blubbering earlier.

 _She'll be fine, Dixons' got her back_ , Lucille thought to herself.

Lucille was brought out of her thoughts when Cora suddenly smacked her glasses off her nose with a giggle. The woman lost her temper then.

"Okay! That's it." She briskly placed the child on the ground, startling the little girl. "Fuckin' do that again and I'll feed ya to the damn Freaks! Now sit down and shut up!!" she said with a rough voice. She was sick and tired of the girl already, and couldn't wait for Roxy to come back and take over again.

Lucille and kids did not do well together, babies the least. With older kids she could still talk to them and set boundaries. Or park them in front of the TV with some cereal like she used to do with Roxy.

Lucille picked up her sunglasses with a sudden wince, a harsh reminder that she was supposed to take things easy with her ribs. And bending down to place the baby on the floor wasn't a smart move either.

Lucille inspected her glasses and got annoyed that one of the lenses began to fall out of its frame.

Frustrated, she threw it across the room, causing her to yelp at the sharp pain in her ribs. She readjusted in her seat and covered her face with a heavily tattooed hand, feeling a headache coming on.

Cora was whimpering, not understanding why she was being punished. But after hearing the item crash against furniture she couldn't help but cry in fear.

Lucille wanted to cry herself, "No...No-no-no," she muttered to herself with strained voice. She cracked one eye open and stared at the crying infant.

She bent down with a grunt and picked Cora up again, "Don't cry, don't cry. Yer fine...We...are fine."

She held the baby close to her, letting her rest against her chest despite the pain the pressure was giving her and gently rubber her back.

The little girl was still whimpering as she cuddled with Lucille.

The woman felt weird about it. "Why do people want kids? Ya'll just drool, and cry, and stink up the place. Yer expensive, can't even feed ya'selves..." she said to the ceiling.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile the others were about to enter the house next door.

Roxanne's brown curls were sticking to her sweaty forehead as she watched the men at work.

They were all peeking through the windows while Merle checked to see if there was a backdoor. Meanwhile Daryl moved to kick open the front door.

"Wait," she said to Daryl as she gently tugged on the backpack he was carrying. "Lemme' carry this, it'll be easier for you."

Daryl nodded at her and took off his bag, "Alright, stand back," he then pushed her aside a bit before kicking the door open with a loud crack.

He paused for a bit, listening and waiting for any movement inside. With crossbow armed and ready he slowly entered the house, looking around for any Lurkers.

Roxanne followed suit, staying close to him as she too kept her eyes and ears open.

They passed the hallways and entered the large living room. Roxanne was still surprised at the luxury, it was very different from their trailer. She could've sworn that it would fit the living room...

They startled when they heard a crash in the kitchen.

Daryl pointed by a table, "Stay there 'n stay quiet 'till I say so." The archer said as he ventured deeper into the house.

Roxanne clutched the backpack to her chest and did as she was told. She glanced around with unease until her eyes settled on a series of framed pictures on the wall. A picture of a family of four with a black and white dog by their side. Another picture of the kids posing with stuffed animals in their laps. Grandparents, baby pictures, birthdays...

These were all happier times...It made her wonder, and sad. And awkward, they were raiding their house. "Sorry..." she whispered with watery eyes at the pictures.

Her thoughts got interrupted when the brothers emerged from the kitchen. She quickly wiped her eyes before they could see it and smiled at them, feeling more at ease now that they're safe.

"Is the house clear?" she asked them.

Daryl replied while Merle went upstairs, his arm flexing as he lifted the crossbow upright, "Yea, Merle's gonna check upstairs real quick. Go see if there's anythin' in the kitchen while I check the garage," he said as he turned to make the sweep.

Roxy nodded and headed to the kitchen.

She was hesitant at first so she took out the survival knife that Lucille borrowed her. "Aim for the head," she repeated her sister's words, barely a whisper.

Slowly she entered the kitchen, glancing around to make sure it was truly safe.

She froze when she saw one of those things laying dead on the floor. The brothers clearly took care of it.

She took a deep breath and tried to ignore it as she moved towards the cabinets, stashing the knife before searching through them to find any food, preferably canned. Which fortunately there was plenty of.

"Oh my God, pears! Oh and peaches, I'll leave those for Ghost," she muttered to herself. Her mouth was watering at the thought of dinner!

It almost made her want to cry again, they haven't had decent food in over a week. She was pretty sure that the Dixon brothers hadn't either.

She didn't waste time as she began to fill the backpack with cans and jars of food. Even dried food fell victim to her scavenging.

When she was done she closed the backpack and carried it before heading out of the kitchen. She met up with the Dixons who brought their own goods. Merle found some spare clothes and was kind enough to find some for the girls as well.

Daryl had both arms loaded with sleeping bags and camping gear. "Found these. They won't be needin' 'em anymore..." he said to the others.

 _This family must've liked the outdoors_ , Roxanne thought. She then turned to Merle real quick, "Anything' for Cora?" she asked the bruiser.

Merle shook his head, "Let's drop these off 'fore hittin' the next one."

 

* * *

 

He was panting heavily with his back against the wooden fence of the backyard, trying to stay as still as he could.

The Walker must've heard something, pausing and groaning on the other side of the fence.

Glenn kept his eyes shut and lips pressed tightly together. _Move along, move along,_ he thought to himself. _Just...ignore me._

The Walker eventually lost interest when a car alarm went off in the distance. Slowly it began to shamble its way over to the noise.

Glenn let out a sigh of relief when the Walker finally decided to continue its journey. "Okay...nice and easy..." the young man whispered to himself. He peeked over the fence making sure there were no others wandering about. Or at least close enough for them to notice him.

Glenn was starting to get annoyed at his task. Not that he minds going on runs, he was the fastest of the group after all and knew the city better than anyone else at the quarry. But every now and then, he wished someone else would go in his place and risk -their- lives for some toilet paper...

It seems that most of the Walkers are heading towards the alarm, _talk about luck!_ He climbed over the fence and rushed for the backdoor, quickly glancing through the window first.

He couldn't see any movement inside so assumed that the coast must be clear.

Glenn adjusted his red cap before grabbing the doorknob and slowly entering the house, "Hello?" he yelled out.

He closed the door behind him with a soft click, never leaving his sight off the living room. Listening for any movement he might've missed.

 _Nothing._ He immediately jumped into action and set his backpack down on one of the counters, opening cabinets and grabbing whatever he could.

There wasn't that much to grab. He figured someone must've beaten him to it, nevertheless he continued to go off the list he memorized; _cleaning products for dishes and laundry, toilet paper, and...Lady products._

Glenn had just found a bottle of detergent when he heard something in the living room coo, startling him enough to drop the bottle as it fell with a loud clunk. He got up quickly, his back against the counter as he listened.

He sword he just heard something. "H-Hello?!" he said before he grimaced as he realized how stupid he was being, he could be calling out a Walker!

He looked around real quick to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. _A kitchen knife._ He carefully removed the sharp object from the wooden block and slowly made his way to the living room. Wiping his sweaty hands on his white T-shirt.

There is was again! A voice! An animal?

He hesitantly approached the couch with knife raised high but then froze when he discovered the source of the cooing, "...A baby??"

It was Cora, alone on the couch resting on her back and suckling on her little hand. Staring back at Glenn with a giggle.

Glenn lowered the knife and approached the little girl, gently grabbing her hand with a small smile giving it a soft caress. _She's cute_ , he thought. _But where are her parents? Why would anyone leave her alone with those things outside?_

Many scenarios ran through his head; are they out scavenging? Did something happen to them while they were out? Did the parents decide to just leave the child behind? Was the baby kidnapped?... Who knows...

He glanced around briefly not sure what to do...He could try and wait for her family to come back, maybe these people needed a safe place to stay?

That was the plan at least until something hard was being pressed against the back of his head followed by a soft metallic click.

"Whoa! Whoa! Okay!" he panicked as he slowly raised his hands with knife still in hand. "Don't shoot!! I didn't hurt her! She's fine!" he quickly explained, figuring he just found the parents.

Lucille had heard the rummaging in the kitchen, whoever it was probably didn't notice them. Why -she- didn't notice him sooner was beyond her, did she black out again? But one thing she was certain of, it wasn't the others because Roxy would've let her presence known.

With whatever strength that still remained in her Lucille carefully set Cora down on the couch, making her lay down. She pressed a finger against her own lips, hoping the infant would understand to stay quiet.

Slowly and as quiet as her limping ass could Lucille hid behind a wall, silently hissing to herself as every movement made her ribs hurt. She could feel the burn wound on her leg tearing... _I can already hear Roxy lecturin' me._

Lucille was worried at first when Cora started to coo. But it turned out to work in her benefit as it distracted the Asian guy. He didn't seem dangerous at first sight. He was, what, 5'9-ish if her judgement was correct? But skinny looking, not a lot of muscle. He seemed to be built for speed in her opinion.

She wasn't too worried until she caught a glimpse of the knife in his hand.

Without thinking twice Lucille stepped out of her hideout and pressed the barrel against his head. All he had to do was make one wrong move and she wouldn't hesitate to fire.

That is if the room would stop spinning...

As Glenn turned around he stared at the barrel first with a hard swallow before looking at the person holding it.

It was a pale looking woman with long, blonde and dirty hair, looking like she came straight out of a street gang with that leather jacket, torn jeans and... _are those knives?_ To be honest she didn't look so good, he thought to himself.

When his eyes had begin to wander to the exposed bra he immediately looked back up, blushing furiously while trying to play it cool. Hoping she didn't catch him.

"Drop it," Lucille told him as she motioned for the knife.

Glenn immediately dropped the knife, hoping that this conversation will go peacefully. "Look, I-I swear I didn't know anyone was in here. I-"

Lucille cut him off, "Who are ya?" she asked him.

He slowly lowered his arms, "My name is Glenn. Glenn Rhee. I'm just a...pizza delivery guy," he said as he eyed her carefully.

Lucille eyed him in return before nodding, "Glenn Rhee...Lucille Wilder," she said as she lowered her gun before clutching her sides. She wasn't sensing any bad vibes about him.

Glenn relaxed more now that the gun wasn't pointed at him anymore. His eyes wandered to her bandaged leg, wondering if maybe she was bit. _Maybe that's why she looks so sick?_

She walked over towards the kitchen, checking to see what it was that Glenn was doing here. She saw something pink poking out of his backpack. "How many of ya'll are there?" she asked as she turned back to Glenn, "Unless those tampons are yours..."

He hesitated for a moment about whether he should tell about the camp or not but then figured that a wounded woman and a baby weren't dangerous.

"There's a quarry where we've set up camp. It's mostly for latecomers that tried to get in Atlanta..." He trailed off when he noticed how Lucille was starting to zone out. "A-Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.

Lucille was feeling hot and dizzy, her vision began to blur and just as she realized what was about to happen again her world turned black. Falling backwards as the gun slipped from her hand.

Glenn's eyes grew wide with worry when he watched her fall over, immediately he rushed over towards her.

Kneeling down beside her he gently began to shake her shoulders, "Hey! Hey, wake up!"

 _No response._ He lifted his ball cap and scratched his head, the black hair sticky from sweat. He didn't know what to do. _Oh, the baby_ , he remembered.

He quickly peeked over the armchair, seeing that the child was still being her giggly self before turning his attention back to Lucille.

He put the red ball cap back on before grabbing the woman's arms and trying to place them on top of her stomach so he could move her to the bigger couch.

And that's when he noticed the ugly blues and purples that marbled her skin from underneath the black leather jacket. Carefully he grabbed the lapels and opened the jacket, "Ouch..." He grimaced at the bruising, _what kind of trouble did she get herself into??_

"The hell?!" Daryl said as he dropped the heavy bags with a loud thud and reached for his crossbow.

"Lucille?!" Roxy was shocked to see a stranger hovering over her sister's unconscious body, getting an unpleasant deja vu. _Oh God, where's Cora?!_

Glenn whipped his head around when he heard the voices, he fully understood how this must've looked.

Glenn let go of Lucille's jacket and put his hands up, "No-no-no-no!! It's not what it looks like!!!"

"Not what it looks like, my ass!" the younger redneck said as he stomped his way over to Glenn and grabbed him by the scruff before slamming him into the wall.

Now Merle certainly didn't like what he saw. The man was a lot of things but harassing women in 'that fashion' was not one of them. "Well, it sure didn't take ya sick perverts long to start preyin' on pretty girls. Ain't it?!" he said as he put down his own bag.

Roxanne went to check on both Cora and Lucille while the brothers retained the Asian man. She was surprised to see how calm Cora was, the girl was probably getting tired, that and being malnourished was taking a toll on everyone's energy levels. Gently she picked the girl up, placing a kiss on her chubby cheek.

Daryl was seething as he kept Glenn pinned against the wall, glancing over to Roxanne. "She alright?" he asked her before looking back at Glenn with a sneer.

Glenn was breathing hard, he never expected to encounter a problem like this on his runs. "Look man, it's all a misunderstanding! I didn't do anything to her she just passed out!!"

Roxy checked the blonde's temperature, placing her hand on the woman's forehead. "She's got a fever but she's fine," she reassured the Dixons.

She looked up at Merle who was standing beside the girls now, "Her clothes are still intact," Roxy spoke softly to him.

Merle nodded bending down to pick up Lucille and carry her over to the couch for now. This was a too familiar situation for him...Merle still felt responsible for the hurting she'd been through.

Daryl was relieved but he wasn't going to take any chances. He dragged Glenn with him to the previously occupied armchair. "Sit ya ass down!" he ordered the Asian guy.

Glenn didn't dispute him as he was practically thrown into the chair, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Roxanne watched as Merle began to dig through his endless bag of 'goodies', actually bothering to read the labels of the pill bottles this time.

So while Merle tried to wake Lucille up to feed her the antibiotics Roxy turned to Glenn, "What happened?"

Glenn sighed and licked his dry lips nervously, this girl seemed to be easier to talk to. "I was just making a run for the camp, I didn't think there was anybody in here. We were just talking when she suddenly fainted."

Both Dixons perked up when the camp was mentioned. But before either could say a word Lucille began to groan.

Her face turned into a scowl when she woke up to Merle's smirk, "Oh God...Whatcha do to him?" she asked worriedly. She was pretty sure that the Dixons would've seen the kid as a threat.

"Nothin' yet," Daryl said with a huff.

Lucille groaned as she tried to sit up, "He's just a pizza boy, he's harmless."

"Finally," Glenn said as relief washed over him. he watched as the archer was starting to back up to give him some space.

Roxanne stopped Lucille though, gently pushing her back down, "Oh no, you don't. You need to rest, your fever spiked again."

Lucille rolled her eyes at her while making an annoyed face, "I'm fine, I just got up too quickly is all."

That's when Lucille remembered what they were talking about. She turned to Merle grabbing his arm, "They have a camp outside the city. Food, water, a safe place...Maybe they have stuff for Cora," she said as she carefully straightened herself before accepting the painkillers from Merle. Swallowing them dry.

Daryl looked back at Glenn, "Where's it at?" he asked him.

"At the old quarry, a couple of miles from here," Glenn responded before adding, "I can take you guys there."

Merle grunted as he got up, "It'll have to wait till tomorrow then, it's gettin' dark."

 

* * *

 

Night had fallen a couple of hours ago and the survivors were huddled together in the living room, a soft lantern light was the only thing illuminating the room. Furniture was moved around to hide their presence from the kitchen view.

Curtains and blankets covered the windows, leaving only a crack for Merle to see through with the rifle they picked up from Jake's. Daryl was going to pick up second shift, so he tried to catch some sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag.

Meanwhile Lucille was already out of it, taking the large couch for herself.

Glenn and Roxanne were quietly chatting, not able to find sleep yet. The Indian girl looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms, worrying about her and Lucille. But if what Glenn said was true than their worries would soon be over.

"How many people are at the camp?" she asked him.

Glenn leaned back as he thought about the numbers, "Quite a few now actually. We have a couple of families and some single survivors," the latter has a sad tone to it. "Anyway, it's pretty safe. We barely get any Walkers there, just the one or two."

Roxanne furrowed her brow for a moment, "Why do you call them 'Walkers'?" she asked.

Glenn had a small smile, "I guess cause the dead 'up and walk', it's what Shane calls them."

"Who's Shane?" she asked.

"He's the leader, I guess. He just sort of took control when he arrived, he's a cop."

Merle scoffed, "Figures..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to portray Glenn Rhee as accurately as I could. What do you guys think?
> 
> \---Tease for Next Chapter---
> 
> It was the sound of motors echoing off the quarry hills...
> 
> Shane jogged towards Dale, having heard the sound of vehicles as well. "Talk to me man, what do you see?!"
> 
> Dale picked up the binoculars, trying to pinpoint the sound. And when he spots them, "A pick-up truck...and a motorcycle."
> 
> Before Shane could say anything the truck in the distance began to honk its horn a couple of times.
> 
> Shane looked up at Dale who responded with a shrug, "I guess they're heading this way?"


End file.
